Fate of One: The Elements
by ShadowLightDark
Summary: Based off of nubsauce13's "Fate of the Two". Naruto learns that he holds the Kyuubi at a young age and when he does, he trains to surpass the Hokages, facing new more powerful enemies that were considered mythical legends. Naruto X FemKyuu X Harem Strong, godlike Naruto Sasuke/Sakura/Civilian Council Bashing. Elements of several games and shows. Alternate Universe. Really.
1. Chapter 1: The Prologue

Chapter 1: Prologue

**A/N: This story is based off of another story called "Fate of the Two" by nubsauce13. It is the inspiration for this creation. Enjoy the Story.**

**I do not own Naruto**

"_Several millennia ago, during a time ruled by gods, demons, and elementals, a land divided for those who rule it. The gods claimed the sky, created their cities of light and named it Olympus while the demons declared the underworld their home, constructed a fortress called Makai. Finally, the elementals who ruled the land above Makai and below Olympus, divided it into five regions for the five basic elements of life. United, this land was named Arlamend, and together, the elements came together to create Daxium, the White Castle of the Northern Wind, along with its sister, Teritus, the Black Fortress of the Southern Current. Abacus, the Silver City of the Western Ranges, and Zeriphius, the Grey Village of the Eastern Storms, soon followed several years later. These four cities soon became the symbol for all of the elements except for one; fire. Jealously and madness started to fill the fire elementals' bodies and before long, chaos started to appear. It wasn't until centuries later that the most of the fire elementals left their respective cities before they met at the heart of Arlamend. There, they constructed a city for themselves, one they intended on using to show their might and power over the other four elements. They called this place Mortus, the Forbidden Gates of the Inferno. It would be years after the city's completion before the fire elementals would attack. Abacus was the first to be hit by the horde of flames before it quickly fell after a few hours of combat. The few survivors of the fallen city travelled to as quickly as they could, the news of the attack quickly spread to all who would listen. But unfortunately, not many would listen until the fall of Zeriphius. Once the fall of Zeriphius reached the ears of the elementals in Daxium and Teritus, all attempts were made to create an army to fight. It would be months before the army of the flames reached the walls of Daxium and when it did, the two groups looked at each other before they charged. This was the beginning. _

_The battles were far more than any could count and days of combat turned into weeks before it turned into months and then years. These warring beasts battles soon started to spread until it covered the whole land of Arlamend. The armies of land, sea, and air engaged in an endless battle as they ripped the very ground that they stood on through their manipulation of the elements. Water from the oceans surged with ferocity as it forced the very land to shift at its whim. Wind sliced through all obstacles in its path as it left a trail of destruction in its wake. Fire scorched the fields of green as it reduced everything to ash and scarred the earth. Earth rose from the empty fields as mountains appeared in the middle of oceans while peaks crashed down the heavens where they roamed for all of eternity. Days turn into weeks, months turn into years as the endless war continues on. The rivers of blood never stopped._

_As the sun rose above the destroyed field of battle, the five armies of the elements appeared to do battle once more. From the horizon, an army of warriors appeared with their weapons drawn and no essence of fear in their bloods. With the darkened clouds loomed overhead, the army charges towards the elemental armies with hope of victory and restore the peace to the lands. For seven days and six nights, the six armies battled against each other with no intent to stop until there was a clear victory. On the seventh night, the army of warriors finally fell to the combined combat, leaving the ten generals to fight the horde of creatures. Hours into the night, the generals started to fall one by one. As the last one fell to the blade of an elemental, an unnatural force shook the field with power no one has ever felt before. The ground split wide open as it devoured some of the combatants. Flames roared from the deeps of the abyss as it launched itself into the night sky before they dissipated completely. Some say that the gates of Makai broke open as a demon rose from the fiery abyss. Others say that a god that had fallen from Olympus had woken from his slumber after several millennia before he broke the gates of Makai. Whether demon or god, the remainder of the five armies attacked yet nothing could touch him. The wind roared with every swipe while the earth trembled with every step._

_As the sun rose over the battlefield on the eight day, it illuminated the carcass-covered field with no evidence of life anywhere. With the weapons of the ten warrior generals gathered together, the elemental slayer stabs them into the ground before it started chanting. Slowly, the bodies of the beasts started to dissolve into particles before it floated towards the weapons. Each weapon started to glow brighter and brighter as more particles flew into them until a bright light consumed the whole field and the slayer. The light died down slowly to reveal the ten weapons but there was no evidence of the elemental slayer. The land suddenly broke before it encompassed the weapons in a tomb of stone._

_Legends stated that centuries after that battle, a group of ten warriors that had explored the land had found the weapons located within the tomb. With weapons in hand, they continued on their way, not knowing what would occur in their evident future. Before long, the powers of the elementals leaked out of the weapons and resulted in corrupting the ten beings with the power until they transformed into something beyond their wildest imaginations. Legends stated that the weapons gave the ten men power beyond their wildest dreams but at the cost of being transformed into the beasts themselves. No longer were they adventurers or explorers but rather Titans. With their newly gained power, the ten warriors conquered the former lands of Arlamend and built their own empires. Fueled with the powers of the souls in their weapons, the Titans gained power over individual elements. These elements branched out from the natural five natural elements. The first five of the Titans received one of the basic elements of earth, fire, water, air, and lightning. From fire came magma while ice came from water. From earth came plants while lightning brought forth storms. Air remained true to itself and never branched out to other elements. However, the tenth Titan acquired a unique element and thus made him different from the others. Some said that the new element brought strength and power that gave him power over the other nine. Once again, the shadows of darkness cover the land like it once did many centuries ago. The clouds no longer let the sun shine through them as the dark clouds above constantly hovers in the sky, as it gave no hope of an end. The ten Titans established their court in the ruins of Mortus before they established their empires. Using their power, they extended Arlamend and named the extension Titanus. With both Arlamend and Titanus under their control, the Titans established their empires, giving each other an approximate equal to the others. Peace remained intact for several more years._

_As it occurred hundreds of scores ago, tension started to build between the separate Titan empire to the point that war was inevitable between the powers. The lands once again became scarred after many centuries of healing while the clouds no longer parted, leaving darkness in its wake. Months of combat turned into years of slaughtering as villages and cities were destroyed. Nothing escaped the devastation of the war._

_As history repeats itself, deep from the pits of Makai, something rose from its slumber after many centuries and for the second time in several millennium, opens the earth once more to walk on it once again. Like the elementals several centuries ago, the Titan armies attacked the being only to easily defeated. He drew his blade, Dyrnwyn, along with Asengard, a war axe shaped tomahawk, before they charged into the fray like he once did many centuries ago. Demons, giants, elemental spirits, and all creatures or warriors called by the Titans fell to the weapons. And one by one, the Titans fell. As each one fell, he sealed them away, never to be found for all eternity. It was years later that the tenth and final Titan was sealed into his prison, but the conflict between the two didn't come without a price. It occurred several months after the sealing, the slayer of elementals and Titans fell to his knees at the gates of Makai before he closed his eyes. He knew it was his end and he stabbed Dyrnwyn into rock before he started to fade. His body slowly disappeared into the thin air, leaving his blade embed into the stone. _

A red haired woman closed the book she held in her hands before she looked down at her swollen belly. Her name is Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, also known as the Red Death, and now, future mother of a child. With a smile, she turned her gaze outside to the dark clouds that covered the moon before she heard a knock on the door. She heard the door creak open and she turned to face it, only for a smile to grow on her face. Right by the door was her secret husband, Minato Namikaze, also known as the Yellow Flash and the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. With a smile plastered on his face, the blonde man moved towards the red haired woman before he engulfed her in an embrace. She returns it after she placed the book onto a nearby table.

"Reading to the baby again, dear?" Minato asked his wife while he held her close to him.

"Of course," she replied as she turned to face her blonde husband with a smile on her face. "He's going to become an amazing ninja like us one day, I can feel it…"

"I'm not going to argue with you on that one though how will you know that the baby will be a he, not a she?"

"Call it a mother's intuition."

"What were you ready to him anyway?" the blonde asked as he stared at the book that was once in the his wife's hands before she placed it down.

"It's called…" she grabbed it back from the table she placed it on before relocating it to a bookcase nearby. "_The Legend of the Fallen_. I found it when I was looking in your library and just started to read it to the baby."

"_Legend of the Fallen_?" Minato said as his mind wandered. "I remember now. The book is about how the mythical titans came to be and how the Fallen rose from his slumber to defeat them. Why would you read this to the baby though?"

"Are you questioning me right now, mister?" his wife asked with a sweet tone that made him shiver while he slowly backed away.

"O-Of c-course not dear," he stuttered out, resulting in a smile from the woman in front of him.

_Time Skip (Five Months)_

In a cottage far away from the village, the cries of agony echo throughout the small household as a red haired woman balled up her hands tightly before she released another blood-curling scream of pain. Right beside her was the wife of the Third Hokage, Biwako Sarutobi, while a blonde blur ran around like a chicken whose head just got cut off.

"Ok, dear," Biwako said calmly to the red head. "When the next contraction comes, you need to push."

"Ok," muttered an exhausted Kushina Uzumaki before the letting out a grunt of pain. "Minato Namikaze! This is all of your fault, if you hadn't knocked me up like this! You're lucky that I can't move or so help Kami, I would make sure that you wouldn't be able to do this to me again!"

"But Kushi-chan…" the blonde said in a small voice, afraid of the demonic energy that seems to be coming off from the red haired woman.

"No buts, Namikaze! I promise you—Aaahh!"

"Minato! Get your ass over here and help maintain the seal!" Biwako shouted at the trembling blonde a few feet away. "Are you not the Fourth Hokage? I mean this is the reason why male don't get pregnant, they're too weak to handle the pain…"

The blonde regained his composure as he moved towards his wife and watched as the red youki started to leak out from the seal on her stomach before it gradually receded. Unknowns to him, Kushina and the sealed being were trying to keep themselves from being separated with all their might but the pregnancy had weakened both of their strengths in great proportions. It was at that moment that a wave of pain surged through the red-haired kunoichi as she released a cry of agony.

"Now Kushina!" Biwako called to her. "Push!"

With a grunt, the woman pushed as she wrapped her hand around her husband's hand and held it tightly. Minato, on the other hand, used a shadow clone to assist him in maintaining the seal. After a few minutes of grunts, pains, and pants, Biwako moved towards the two with a bundle in her hands. She then handed them the bundle to reveal a baby with cerulean eyes that stared into theirs.

"Congratulations," the wife of the third said to them softly. "You have a healthy young boy."

"I told you the baby would be a boy," Kushina whispered to her blonde lover before she started to cough violently. Her husband and the old Sarutobi female both held looks of concern and it only deepened when they spotted a small splatters of blood that stained her white hospital gown.

"Kushina!" Minato shouted with surprise as he moved to hold her hand but only for him to be pushed away by Biwako. The female Sarutobi and the few nurses started to examine the red-haired woman as she continued to cough up the red liquid. The sudden chatter between the doctors caused Minato to start pacing back and forth quickly while worrying and fear started to enter his system. Several screams alerted him as he turns towards the door to find a man with an orange mask on and his ANBU guards lying on the ground in rather large puddles of blood. With amazing speed, the orange masked man throws several kunai at the blonde Hokage while throwing another set at the group of cowering nurses around Kushina's bed. With speed only he possessed, Minato dodged the hail of projectiles before he heard more screams. He turns to find that the second set of projectiles had killed the nurses, along with Biwako. All that remained were the Hokage, his wife, his newly born son, and the masked man.

"I must say," the masked man said aloud. "You are quite faster than I had expected Minato Namikaze, but I must say not fast enough."

Minato narrowed his eyes and thoroughly examined his opponent. From what he had heard, it was a male and he wore an orange mask with a spiral pattern on it. His consisted of a large black cloak, capable of hiding weapons from his line of sight.

"What do you want from me?" the Fourth Hokage asked seriously.

"You? I want nothing of you. But rather I want your wife. I suggest you back away from the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitusne, Minato," the masked man replied before lifting his hand and revealed a bundle of towels and cloth. "Otherwise your child dies. It would a shame really."

"Naruto!" the distressed mother called out before she coughed once again.

"I guess I have no choice do I?" the aggressor said before he tossed the new born up into the arm. Minato's eyes widened before he hurled his tri-pronged kunai. The projectile imbedded itself into the wall before a yellow flash appeared and grabbed the falling baby boy.

"Your reputation precedes you, Namikaze," a voice said behind him. The blonde man turns to find the masked man to be standing right beside his wife. She seemed to be struggling in his grasp but her weakened state did nothing to help her current position.

"No!" the Hokage cried as the two disappeared into thin air.

_Clearing Several Miles From Konoha_

As quickly as he had disappeared, the masked man reappeared with the weakened Kushina beside him in a clearing with several towering rocks. Kushina, on the other hand, faded in between the blackness of unconsciousness and the color of reality. She felt nothing when the man placed shackles on her wrists and ankles.

"I would really like it if you would stay awake dear," sneered the masked man. . "So you can see the end of Konoha along with your beloved Hokage before you die. I do need my _pet_ from you though."

With that said, the red youki started to leak from the red haired woman's navel while she cried out in pain. The process continued as more and more of the red colored youki poured out before it shaped itself into a fox with nine tails. More minutes had passed and the blood red fox started to grow to the point it was around thirty stories tall. Soon, the youki started to fade away to reveal the red-orange fur of the fox and the black eyes. Meanwhile, the red-haired woman just let her head hang as darkness closed around her.

"Naruto… Minato…" she mumbled as exhaustion soon started to claim her.

"At last! You are mine now!" the man cried out as the beast released a feral roar into the dark night. "It is time you returned to your rightly owner."

"I don't think so," a voice behind him said, which prompted the cloaked figure to turn. Standing several feet in front of him was a man with a mop of blonde, spiky hair. It was all he needed to know who it was.

"It seems that you found me," he mocked. "A shame really, but it seems that you are too late to stop me now."

"It's never too late to stop you!" shouted the Namikaze as he hurled several of his tri-pronged kunai at his opponent.

The cloaked man jumped away before his hands sped through several seals.

"You have tried to interfere in my plans for the last time!" he shouted angrily. "**Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb**!"

A great dragon of bright orange fire appeared from the mouth of the masked man before it launched itself towards the Fourth Hokage. He vanished in a yellow flash before he reappeared several meters away. The roars of the fox demon echoed in the background as the two stared each other down. The two moved in a synchronized manner as they jumped backwards as they launched several projectiles like shurikens and kunais aimed at the other. The metal objects collided in mid air and caused a cacophony of sounds before free falling to the ground.

"You are only delaying the inevitable, Namikaze," growled the masked man. "No one, not even you can stop me."

"No one is unbeatable!" the blonde Kage retorted back. "I will ensure of that!"

With that said, the blonde started to channel chakra to the palm of his hand. The chakra soon started to become visible to the naked eye as it formed a medium sized ball. The ball of energy soon stabilized itself as it rested above the Kage's hand. Minato then disappeared in a yellow flash, making the masked man's eyes narrow slightly.

'_Where will he be?' _ he thought as his feet shifted. _'I guess I will have to use _that _move then…'_

Suddenly, a yellow flash appeared right beside him and the ball of chakra is pushed forward, only for its intended target to disappear. Instead, the ball crashes into a tree and split it in half in mere seconds.

"Foolish attack Namikaze," the Hokage's enemy said. "But I don't have time for you."

With that, the man vanished along with the Nine-tailed fox.

_The Next Day_

It had been a day since the fox had been released from Kushina's body and it was beginning to take its toll on her. Minato never left her side when the doctors examined her after they returned after the conflict with the man. One of these doctors was Tsunade Senju, a student of Hiruzen Sarutobi, one of the legendary Sannin, and the best medical ninja they knew. It brought relief to both husband and wife when she told them the results of the examination. Kushina had suffered some internal damage because of the forced exit of the Kyuubi but thanks to the small amounts of youki that was left in her body's system, it started to make repairs. It was because of this that Kushina was going to live. This greatly confused the two but they just accepted the fact that the red head was going to live even after the ordeal that just occurred. She was still ordered bed rest by the blonde Sannin, and thus resulted in Minato staying by her side to the point that he brought most of his paperwork with him to the hospital. The two decided to tell the events that occurred at the cottage with only two people: Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato's sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin. The former Kage could only look at the two with shock when they revealed the death of his wife by the hands of the unknown assailant.

Now, it was nighttime in Konoha, though one could be forgiven if any had said it was as warm as a summer's day. The reason of the warmth and brightness was that Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, was under attack. The attacker was not the army of an enemy village nor was it even human. It was a fox of monstrous proportions with nine waving tails behind it. The fox was by all definitions a demon and as such had a fitting title: Kyuubi no Youko, the Demon Lord of the Ninth Circle of Makai. Its maws unleashed torrents of flames that ignited the field of trees and its tails caused mountains to crumble into dust. The flames spread throughout some parts of the village and it was burning so brightly that one would mistake it for the sunrise. Many buildings burned down while civilians run towards the bunkers and safe houses located in several areas of the village. On the other hand, all shinobi and kunoichi raced towards the front lines with hopes to delay the beast.

The ninja of Konoha were not simply going to let this demon destroy their home. Everything that they had worked so hard to rebuild after the war with Iwagakure would be for naught if the Fox penetrated their line of defense. They fought with all the power they could muster; trying everything to subdue the beast, but it was not enough. The nine-tailed demon was attacking at random patterns, leaving destruction and death in its wake. Any attacks that the shinobi launched at the beast would do nothing other than annoy it. All they could do was stall it and hope that their Hokage could muster a plan to defeat the Demon Lord and end the destruction.

_With Minato_

"Minato-kun, what will you do?" asked a weak and weary Kushina.

There was no immediate answer as a long silence followed the question. Kushina only looked at her husband and instantly knew he was deep in thought. She waited patiently, something she was never good at, before she saw the small frown that marred his face. This worried her greatly as she continued to look at her husband.

"I'm thinking that I may have to seal it. There doesn't seem to be any other way," the blonde kage answered.

"Seal?" she inquired as her eyes narrowed. "Into what exactly? This is the Kyuubi no Youko that we are talking about here. She cannot easily be sealed into an iron ball like the Nibi or a kettle like the Ichibi. The container would easily be destroyed in a matter of hours unless it was a person you sealed her into. Besides, Kyuubi-chan is not like this! What reason would she attack Konoha and us? This isn't like her at all… She was and still our friend… Besides, what would you seal her into?"

As she asked this question, the fear within her body started to rise as she thought of the possible solutions for their current dilemma. She was deep into thought and didn't see her lover look down.

'_He would have to seal it into a human being,' _she concluded. _'That could mean only one thing…'_

"Kushina-chan, I must seal it into a newborn baby," he replied softly. "It is the only way."

Kushina looked at the man she currently loved as his answer only confirmed her fears. Her look did not held one of love, happiness, or anything positive but rather one of pain and suffering. This was aimed at the Hokage as she slowly moves towards the frightened man.

"You cannot be serious! You would be damning that child to a life of misery," she shouted at him while she thought about her newborn child and the events that would occur if this fate was thrust upon him.

"I have no choice. Either one must endure this or the whole village will be destroyed."

There was no anger in his voice, only regret and disappointment for the current course of action. Her expression softened as she looked at him.

"What about if you an I…" she asked quietly, only to be interrupted by Minato.

"No, it would not be possible. You are still weak from that man extracting Kyuubi from you. There is nothing we can do; the sealing is the only method."

"I still don't agree… But there haven't been any births…"

Her voice tapered as her thoughts wandered on before realization struck her. She turned to see the apologetic look upon the Namikaze's face before she gave him a death glare.

"No, you will not use our child! I will not subject our own flesh and blood to that! I absolutely refuse!"

"I would trust no one else with such a burden other than one of my own flesh and blood…"

"No! I absolutely refuse to do this! Nothing means more to me than him!"

"If I can't make the sacrifice, how can I ask someone else to do so? There are no births as of the last two days other than Naruto. I must seal Kyuubi into him to save the village and that would mean that Naruto will become an orphan…"

"Orphan? What do you mean orphan?"

"The sealing…" he said hesitantly before continuing."The sealing will require my life. I must summon the Shinigami to consummate the sealing."

She quickly realized what he just said before letting the grief and sadness flood her system. She shared a bond with Minato that was beyond the status of husband and wife. It was to the point that when one of them died, the other would shortly follow to ensure that they would remain united even in the afterlife. It was too much for her to bear as the tears started to fall from her eyes. She held on to her son, knowing that these were going to be that last moments that they have together. Both Minato and Kushina spoke nothing more as they cherished the last few minutes they had together with their son. Unfortunately, the monstrous roar of the Kyuubi reached their ears and with sorrowful eyes, the blonde Hokage took the infant from his wife's arms.

"Kushina-hime, its time, I must go and perform the sealing before any more lives are lost," Minato said in a soft voice.

"I'll see you on the other side, Minato-koi," she replied before looking at her son. "Naruto, know that I will always love you even though your father and I could not be with you in life. Live your life like we did with ours and know that we will always be watching you. Make sure to eat your vegetables and become a great shinobi like your father and I were. Goodbye my son…"

Her voice softened as she planted a kiss on the babe's forehead before more tears cascaded from her eyes. She just looked at Minato with sad eyes as he looked at their son before disappearing in a yellow flash.

_Battlefield_

When he arrived at the battlefield in a bright yellow flash, a unanimous cry from all Konoha shinobi filled the air. The commotion started to pick up as the waves of attacks started to increase. This significantly started to slow down the Demon Lord from the mass of attacks. But Minato heard none of this. All he saw was the large scale of destruction that littered the field. All of his senses were at an all time high. The feeling of a blood soaked ground squelching as he walks towards the sound of dying comrades. The smell of burning flesh, the taste of the smoke thick in the air from all of the fires, and the sight, the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of lifeless bodies, ripped in to shreds, burnt, flattened by the Foxes great paws all dyed red with blood. It was all too much. Right beside the blonde man was a rather old one wearing battle armor and behind these two were two other shinobi.

"Minato-kun, are you sure that this is for the best? You could teach me the hand signs for the jutsu and allow me to take your place?" asked the old man.

"No thank you, Sarutobi-sama. This is my responsibility and I will not shirk from my duties as Hokage," Minato said strongly before looking at the elder man. It was there that Sarutobi saw a resolve of steel. He then knew nothing he said would affect the man's decision in any form.

"Kakashi, come," the blonde called as a man with gravity defying hair walks forward. "Watch over him and protect him. When the time comes, be there for him. Please…"

"I will sensei," Kakashi answered softly.

"Jiraiya-sensei…."

"I already know brat," replied Jiraiya, a man with a flowing mane of white spiky hair. "Teach him when he's ready and don't turn him into a pervert unless I want Kushina to come back and kill me for it."

This earned small chuckles from the three shinobi while Jiraiya just lets out a sigh of disappointment. Minato then turned towards the elder Sarutobi once again.

"Sarutobi-sama, please make sure he is treated like a hero. He deserves to be one.

"I will make sure he will be."

The reassurance was all Minato needed before he bit his thumb. His hands started to weave into handsigns before they slammed onto the ground. Suddenly, a large plume of white smoke appeared before dissipating to reveal a very large toad wearing a large blue happi vest with a massive dosu blade at his hip. The toad's famous kiseru pipe hung from his mouth, he looks towards his opponent. This was Gambunta, the current Boss Summon for the Toad Summoning Clan.

"**Minato, if I'm not much mistaken that's the Kyuubi. Don't tell me you seriously intend on taking on the most powerful of the Bijuu**?" Gamabunta asked the blonde Kage riding on top his head.

"Afraid so Boss. I need you to keep him busy and me out of his reach while I make the final preparations for the sealing," Minato replied.

"**I will do what I can**," the Toad Boss replied before he jumped towards the nine-tailed fox. **"**_**Water Release: Gunshot**_**!" **

Bullets of water shot out of the Boss Summons mouth and flew towards the red fox before making impact. With a mighty roar, the Demon Lord unleashed a torrent of crimson flames. The flames made impact with the ground and resulted in earth shattering screams.

"Gamabunta, we need to get the fox away from the village!" shouted the blonde Hokage.

"**I'll try but I don't know if I will be able to,"** grunted the Toad Boss before he drew his blade from its sheathe. **"Come on flame breathe, let's see what you got.**_** Water Release: Gunshot**_**!" **

Several blobs of water shot out of the toad's mouth and made impact with the fox demon. It unleashed another roar before one of the tails lunged to attack. Gamabunta dodges the attack with a quick dodge before he spat out more balls of liquid and lunged forward with his blade. It almost reached its target before several tails slammed on to the boss summon's side and caused him to slide several meters. Gamabunta took a few seconds to regain his senses and during this time, the Kyuubi slashed him. The attack didn't hit the large toad but rather hit his pipe, causing it to break into several pieces.

"**Damn," **muttered Gamabunta as he spat out the remains of pipe before he tightened his hold on his blade. **"That was favorite pipe…"**

He then charged the beast and clashed with it. The fox held the Toad Boss to a standstill and caused the surrounding area to become even more devastated. Every time the fox left an opening, Gambunta took advantage with an attack. The fox would defend itself from any of the attacks using its tails.

"It's ready!" Minato screamed over the sounds of battle. "I'm sorry but this must be done… Especially to you Kyuubi no Youko. **Shiki Fuin**!"

Above the Fourth Hokage, a spectral entity appeared. It wore a white cloak while it held a dagger between its teeth. He knew just who this entity was. It was the Shinigami. Kyuubi tried to move away from the being but its body would not move one bit. The Demon Lord watched as the Shinigami plunged its hand through the blonde Hokage before it grabbed its soul. Kyuubi tried to struggle out of its grasp as it was once again sealed into another human being. This time, it was sealed into the newborn named Naruto and when the Shinigami released it, an intricate pattern appears on his stomach. Minato just spent the last few moments of his life and held his son.

"I'm sorry for doing this my son," he whispered while his tears flowed from his eyes. "I'm sorry for preventing you from having a family. I'm sorry for not being able to be there for you when you start your own family… I can only hope that you will find someone who will love you, no matter what you contain. Someone like your mother… I'm sorry, my son…"

With those final words, the blonde kage took his last breathe with his eyes centered on his crying son. He knew that Kushina would soon follow him to the afterlife and he hoped that his village would treat him as a hero. At the battlefield, the shinobi of Konoha could only celebrate as they watched the Kyuubi disappear and knew that their Hokage had defeated it. Everyone cheered except for Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi, and Jiraiya. These three shinobi rushed to where the Kyuubi disappeared and found the dead body of the Fourth holding his crying son. Above them, Gambunta let a single tear fall from his eye before he returned to the summoning realm. Kakashi took the crying baby into his arms while Jiraiya lifted the dead body of the Hokage. It was at this point that Konoha shinobi appeared from the trees before they asked the location of the Fourth but the Sarutobi prevented them. He quickly took control of the situation and told them that this was neither the time nor the place to answer the questions.

Days later, Sarutobi retook the mantle as the Hokage to prevent the chaos and anarchy that would have emerged from the death of their Hokage. He held the information of Naruto's true heritage from the council and told them of his status as an orphan from a civilian family. He also told them the burden he currently held as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and how the Fourth wanted him seen as a hero. The civilians and elders called for his death and constantly call for his death as they state that he would become the demon reincarnated. On the other hand, the shinobi side wanted to respect their dead Kage's last wish and attempted to adopt the child with the exception of the Uchiha clan. The elders and the civilian council put down the idea quickly. Sarutobi knew what had to be done and told the council that Naruto will be placed in an orphanage. His status as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi was now an S-ranked secret with the penalty of death to those that speak of it before he dismissed the council.

Years later, Sarutobi looked outside his window at the proud village of Konoha with his thoughts wandering to the blonde child. Little did he know about the fate he would have or the greatness that he would soon achieve. Little did he know about the future of Konoha. Little did he know about what will soon happen to the Elemental Nations.

**A/N: Edited and Completed.**

**R&R. No Flames.  
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**Shadow  
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	2. Chapter 2: Deal With Destiny

Chapter 2: Deal of Destiny

**A/N: The harem from the poll in the unedited version will be carried over with some modifications. It will posted in either the next chapter or chapter 4. Enjoy the story.  
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**I do not own Naruto or the themes evident in this story. **

Today is October 10.

Location? A village surrounded by miles of forests in any direction. This village is called the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was considered to the strongest over the other four major villages through their prowess in strength in military and politics through the production of strong shinobi. This included The Professor, Copy Ninja Kakashi, the Sannin, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and most of all, the Yellow Flash. The Yellow Flash, also known as Minato Namikaze, was remembered by all through the Third Shinobi War when he defeated several squads of Iwa and even more so when he defeated the Demon Lord of the Ninth Circle, the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

It has been eight years have passed since that battle and since then, the village has thrived. Many of the citizens currently celebrate as the day marked the death of the Kyuubi but they also mourned the death of the Fourth Hokage for his sacrifice. It was also eight years since the reinstated Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, passed the S-ranked law that punished those that told others about the Kyuubi being sealed into a boy, the son of the late Fourth Hokage, named Naruto. It was his belief that this law would prevent those in the council from passing the information to others, but all it did was harden the task. They were successful in spreading the information to the citizens and this transformed into a strong hate aimed towards the newborn Jinchuuriki.

It all started when he was kicked out of the orphanage at the age of three and had to suffer the assault from a massive mob of citizens. They chased him and attacked him when they finally caught him. It would have continued until the Third Hokage came and saved him before he had his ANBU execute the attackers. Then, he gave the boy an apartment to live in and it resided in between the merchant's and shinobi area of the village. Along with the apartment, the Hokage gave him a weekly allowance to purchase from stores. Whenever he went anywhere, everyone would send glares at him. The stores he went to held a strong hatred towards him and either overpriced their goods, refused to give him any service, or threw him out into the streets. This continued until it reached October 10.

During this day, many of the civilians and shinobi would get drunk because of the celebrations before creating a mob. This mob would try to find the boy and attack him. Because of the frequency of these events, it finally became a form of entertainment that many called 'Fox Hunt'. The mobs that formed were mostly civilians but sometimes, shinobi would join in. No matter how long it took, they would always catch the boy and beat him within an inch of death before being rescued by his protectors. His protectors would kill some people of the mob before they dispersed. They would then get him to a hospital and get him treated before staying with him to make sure he was safe.

This dark night of October was no different than the rest as shouts of "Kill the Demon!" and "Let's finish what the Fourth started!" filled the alleyways of the village. A young boy with a mop of blonde hair ran through the alleyways and streets as he tried to escape. Behind him, a large mob that contained shinobi and civilians alike followed him. Their expressions held one of glee and malicious intent as they followed their prey. Whenever they spotted him, they started to throw anything they could to slow him down or even stop him. These projectiles included glass bottles, knives, and shurikens. They flew at high speeds and smashed into random walls or buildings as the blonde weaved his way through the incoming attacks. It wasn't long before a stray kunai impales itself into the running blonde and caused him to fall onto the ground. This allowed his pursuers to gain ground and it wasn't long before they were a few meters away from the boy. He tried to scramble away but several more projectiles hit his back and caused him to fall back down in pain. Naruto just curled into a ball as he accepted his fate.

"Look here boys, the demon is trying to huddle up to keep itself from being killed! We can't have that now can we?" said a crazy looking man. "It's time for you to pay your dues! You've lived in our village for the past seven years and take our food along with the madness you ensure with your so called pranks!"

"You killed my wife!"

"My family died all because of you!"

"You destroyed my clan's house!"

"This is for my sister!"

"He even controls the Hokage himself! He lets him roam our village and cause mayhem! I say it's time for him to end!"

"It's time to finish what the Fourth started and kill this beast to protect Konoha from his terror!"

"Kill him!"

"Yeah!" cried the members of the mob as they rushed in to beat the helpless child, pushing him to the brink of death.

They started to pull out several items like long wooden sticks and sharpened blades before they used them against the boy. The pieces of wood made impact against his body and left large black bruises everywhere. It wasn't long before the crowd heard a crack along with a cry. They knew that a bone was broken and instead of stopping, they just continued with more ferocity. The kunais and knives were stabbed into his skin and were slowly dragged in random directions. They formed long cuts that allowed a large amount of blood to pour out. It wasn't long before the boy started to lose consciousness from the massive loss of blood. He didn't see the two large pieces of wood that his aggressors brought with them or feel the pain as they stabbed a kunai through his hands and feet. It felt like hours of torture for the blonde boy until he finally fell to the darkness of unconsciousness. When the mob saw him lose his consciousness, they continued to abuse his body before they stepped back to examine their 'work'. Their victim was stabbed to a wooden cross while streams of blood continued to pour out of the cuts. The cuts and bruises littered his whole body. They knew that no one would be able to identify the boy because of the large amounts of damage done.

"It's time to end this! You will now die!"

"Yeah! Burn his body!"

"Say goodbye demon! **Fire Release: Great Fireball**!"

A large orange ball of fire launched from the mouth of the ninja before it flew towards the deformed body of the blonde. All around the ninja, the large mob of people cheered loudly as they were about to witness the death of the demon. Naruto, on the other hand, knew what was about to happen and accepted the fate of death as he felt the intensity of the heat increase. However, fate smiled upon him.

"**Water Release: Water Fang Bullet**!"

Out of nowhere, a large bullet of water slammed into the speeding ball of fire before it extinguished the flames from the plane of existence. However, the impact of water and fire created a shroud of mist that covered the area. The people of the mob could only narrow their eyes as they tried to make out anything within the field. It wasn't long before the veil of mist disappeared and revealed five beings that proudly stood in between them and the blonde boy. Upon further examination of the group of individuals, they quickly saw that four of them wore full black pants and full black shirts with light grey chest armor. Their faces shifted to one of terror when they saw that the faces of these people were covered with an animal mask. They were ANBU. The fifth person was different from the other four and stood in between them. The individual was an old man who wore white robes along with a triangular hat. The most prominent detail of the hat was the kanji for fire. This was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and he was not pleased.

"What the hell do you people think you're doing?!" he asked sharply while his killing intent rolled off him in massive amounts.

"Hokage-sama!" one of the ANBU called. "Y-You might want to see this…"

The Hokage turned and paled at the sight in front of him. He saw the blonde hair and automatically knew who it was. Around him, the four shinobi grasped their blades as they slowly leaked out killing intent. The old man quickly turned back around to face the crowd of people with a glare etched on his face.

"W-we were just finishing w-what the F-Fourth started H-Hokage-sama," a frightened shinobi said from amidst the mass of people before they felt another wave of KI.

"What your doing is hurt an innocent child!" roared the Hokage as he added more KI with each word.

"He is not innocent!" a random citizen cried out. "He is a demon! He controls you and make you see him as a child!"

Silence reigned for a few moments before the citizen let fear overcome his senses. He tried to turn and run away but it was too late for him. He slammed into something and fell down to the ground. His eyes dilated as he saw what stopped him. In front of him was one of the ANBU that stood by the Hokage.

"You broke an S-ranked law," the shinobi whispered before he drew his blade. "You will now accept the punishment of death."

As soon as the word 'death' was said, the ninja stabbed the blade into the man's heart before being pulled out. No else moved or spoke a word.

"ANBU!" Sarutobi yelled as more of the masked shinobi appear out of nowhere. "Take them into custody. All shinobi are now dishonorably discharged from your services. Take them all to Ibiki and tell him not to hold back."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" responded the masked shinobi before they surrounded the people and led them down the alleyway to another portion of the village.

"Cat, Dog, Snake, and Bear, you're with me. We're taking Naruto to the hospital."

The four ANBU nod before they moved towards the blonde. Carefully, the kunais from his hands and feet before placing bandages at the holes to try to prevent more blood loss. Then, Cat and Dog took the boy before they quickly moved towards the nearest hospital.

_Konoha Hospital_

It would be a matter of minutes before the group made it to the hospital. The blonde boy was then taken to a special room for him. The head doctor made it when they found out that several of the staff flat out refused to care for the boy because he was a demon. Those doctors and nurses were promptly fired several minutes later. Only those loyal to the Hokage and held no hatred towards him were allowed to apply in the hospital. Two of the doctors that treated him were Megumi and Miho Megumi. They knew Naruto was the son of Minato and Kushina through the friendship the four had. A group of doctors stopped working before dispersing while one of them headed towards a worried old man.

"Sarutobi-sama, it seems he is fine thanks to the Kyuubi. It healed most of the wounds but I know nothing of the boy's mental state. I would probably hypothesize it's on the verge of breaking down," Miho stated.

"Damn those deranged villagers," cursed Hiruzen but right now, he was too worried of Naruto's welfare to care about the villagers right now. Dog and the other three ANBU could only tighten their fists in anger and grief for the blonde boy.

"It's best to let him rest for now and wait for the result in the morning," said Akiko in a sad tone.

"Thank you both for doing all that you can for him," the Third said before he bowed towards them in respect.

"It's our duty as medics to heal and treat ALL who enter this hospital. There is no need to be so thankful Sarutobi-sama when we are doing what we had to do. We swore that when we took the Hippocratic Oath," Miho said with a small smile before he and Akiko bowed and exited the room.

"Kami-sama, please help Naruto," prayed the Third Hokage with closed eyes as he walked towards the exit of the room. "I can only do so much when faced with these unbearable odds. Help me to protect him…"

"I'm sorry we couldn't protect you," Dog whispered softly as he looked at the blonde boy wrapped in the gauze, bandages, and tape. "I promised to protect you and I will."

"Don't worry about it Dog," Cat whispered to him. "You did what you could. Your sensei knows that you always tried to be with him and protect him."

"Thanks Cat."

With that, the two ANBU exit the room followed by their colleagues. The Third Hokage looked back at the boy before he exited the room. They didn't know of what would happen when the blonde woke up, he would be a new person in everything but personality.

_Naruto's Mindscape_

Naruto felt himself regaining consciousness and much to his surprise, he also felt something cool and wet on his back. His eyes soon opened to reveal a dark corridor while the walkway was covered in water. The only sound that can be heard were water drops that made impact to the body of water on the ground. It reminded him of a sewer.

"What happened…?" he questioned himself before he got up. "Where am I…? It looks like a sewer…"

He started to walk in a random direction with no ideas of how to get out until he heard a sound. It was soft but was similar to a growl of an animal. Curiosity overpowered him as he started to move towards the origin of the noise before he heard it again but only louder. This continued on until he found a passageway. At the back of the passage way was a massive prison door with a slip of paper stuck to the middle as if it was the lock to the gate. Unknown to him, the paper had the kanji for 'Seal' on it. He approached the gate slowly as the growl continued to grow louder and louder. Suddenly, two large and ferocious eyes opened from within the gates while a deep voice resonated all around.

"**Who dares to enter my domain?"**

"N-Naruto U-Uzumaki…"

"**Ah, my beloved jailor has decided to visit his prisoner. Do you know who I am child?"**

"N-No…"

"**So the warden doesn't even know the name of his prisoner. How… inconvenient."**

"So w-who are y-you?"

"**Who am I? Who am I?" ** growled the voice. **"I am the destroyer of mountains and creator of tsunamis. I am the gatekeeper of Makai and the defender of the Keep. I am the Demon Lord of the Ninth Circle. I am Kyuubi! Hear my roar and tremble at my power mortal!"**

The water shook with every word the demon spoke before it blew away at his roar. Naruto just shook in fear as he looked at the pair of red eyes. It took him a few minutes before he was able to speak again.

"I-I've been hurt many times and they keep on calling me a demon… I hear the whispers behind my back as people talk about me as the demon… Am I a human or a demon? Did I kill those people like they say or not? Who am I?" he asked aloud as his tears start to fall from his eyes before he looked at the Demon Lord. "Am I a demon like they said?"

"**No, you are no demon,"** growled the fox. **"I am a demon and you are a human."**

"Then why do they beat me?" he cried. "Why do they constantly call me demon as they hurt me?"

"**One being I once knew said that humanity's stupidity is beyond infinite*. They do not try and hurt you but rather try and hurt me."**

"What?"

"**What those worthless humans belief is that you are me and I am you. They believe that you are me but in the form of a human."**

"W-wait… Are you saying that you are in me?"

"**Yes but that does not make you a demon."**

"Then what does that make me? I hold you inside my body!" the blonde cried. "I am a demon!"

"**Silence yourself child!" ** growled the Kyuubi. **"Just because you contain me does not make you a demon. No, that makes you a Jinchuuriki."**

"A-a what?"

"**Jinchuuriki is a human prison for an entity. You are one as are a few others but that does not make you a demon."**

"I-I guess y-you're right…"

"**Those villagers are the demons. They hurt a child who has no control over events. My kind treat their young with care, no matter the circumstances… They are the worse kind of human and I hope to see them in Makai after their deaths."**

"W-What happens n-now?"

"**First of all, stop stuttering like an idiot. I will do nothing to you as long as you comply with my… requests."**

"W-what are they?"

"**You are weak and that reflects on my strength. I will not be weak. You will become strong and then we will see what will happen from there…"**

"I-I don't understand…"

"**You are my container and thus represent me in a certain sense. By being weak, it shows that I am weak. You will become strong with my help."**

"How?"

"**If you would stop talking then I would be able to explain," **snarled the demon and earned a fearful look from the blonde. **"Because I am a tailed demon, I am able to control the elements and that allows me to call upon certain spirits that can assist you."**

"Why do you want me to be strong?"

"**Meet my requirements and only then will I tell you my story."**

"I guess I have no choice then-"

"**No, you always have a choice. No one is ever forced to make a decision but rather they decided to make the decision."**

"I-I guess I'll accept your offer."

"**Very well then. You need to rip a small part of the seal off the cage so I can do what is needed to be done. You will gain the ability to harness the elements with the help of the spirits. Along with that, you will gained increased senses, stamina, reflexes, and chakra. I also get some things as well through this agreement."**

"Like what?"

"**I can hear what you hear, see what you see, taste what you taste, all that jazz."**

"I guess… Thank you… No one has done so much for me other than the old man and a few others…"

"**We will talk again soon but you need to rip part of the seal so I can begin."**

With that said, the large red eyes soon disappear from the boys view. Naruto moved towards the seal before he pulled on it a little bit. It wasn't long before he felt something warm start to surround him. Instantly, wave after wave of power rush out from the cage and slammed into him. All around him, the corridor started to shift into a circular room with the Kyuubi's cage. Five pillars surrounded him and it wasn't long before the blonde's curiosity got the better of him. He lightly grazed the stone tower with his finger before it suddenly started to crack. The pillar he touched started to rupture while the other four started to fracture.

Soon, lights started to erupt from the broken pillars and caused the young child to shield his eyes. It wasn't long before the light diminished and revealed five figures. He didn't know it at the time, but these five were going to become his teachers. Intrigued, Naruto took the time to examine them as soon as he uncovered his eyes.

First was Ares, the Spirit of the Wind. She stood proudly at 5' 10" with dirty blonde hair. Her body was covered with a pearl white kimono that hugged her womanly figure while only showing moderate amounts of cleavage. She had a heart shaped face while her blonde hair reached down to her back. In Naruto's opinion, the most interesting feature of the woman was her emerald green eyes. They were unique and held warmth and kindness when they looked at him

Next was Velena, the Spirit of Water. She was shorter than Ares, as she was 5' 8", and wore a deep blue kimono. Her hair reached her upper back while they were fanned out in contrast to Ares' ponytail. Her face was almost the same heart shape as the Wind Spirit but with sky blue eyes that held serenity. What caught the blonde's interests was the woman's blue hair because it felt like it matched the color of his eyes.

Then there was Odin, the Spirit of Lightning. The child was a little scared when he first examined him as the fact that he looked like a demon of some sorts with two curved horns attached to his head. He was covered with a black armor trimmed with a golden yellow while his skin was like bronze. On his left forearm was something that looked like a shield while his amethyst colored eyes evoked fear as they looked into the child's light blue ones.

Afterwards was Bahamut, the Spirit of Fire. Practically, he looked like a dragon-human hybrid with a pair of wings on his back. His skin was a dull gray while he wore a helmet the shape of a dragon's head. His armor was akin to a dark paladin but only with wings (Think Siegried's armor from the Soul Calibur series but only black and gray in color). His eyes were slits with golden background and gave the hybrid look feral.

Finally, there was Exodus, the Spirit of Earth. He looked like a large stone golem. Enough said.

While Naruto examined the five spirits, they also looked at him before they spotted the fear etched on his face. Velena quickly sensed his fear before she stepped forward and wrapped the boy with her aura. It acted as a blanket and the boy almost immediately calmed down. She saw this before she moved towards him and lowered herself to look him in the eyes.

"_Hello young one, My name is Velena and these are my friends. That's Ares, Bahamut, Odin, and Exodus," _she said softly before she looked behind him. _"It is an honor to see you again Lord Kyuubi."_

"**I see that you are well Velena," **grumbled the beast. **"Odin, Bahamut, Ares, Exodus. "**

When the Kyuubi called out their names, they responded with a nod except for Ares and Velena, who bowed.

"_If I may ask, Lord Kyuubi, why have you called the five of us here?" _asked Odin.

"**I summoned the five of you here because I have been sealed once again. The kit is weak and thus currently gives me the image of a weakling. You are to train him in your respected arts. We will talk again soon but I must rest. Summoning you took much out of me."**

"_By your will, Lord Kyuubi," _responded the five elementals before they turned to face the young blonde boy.

"_Hello young on. Lord Kyuubi has told you the requirements to begin our training, correct?," _said Bahamut, only to receive a confused look from Naruto. _"Very well, in order for us to accept you into our training, you must pass our tests. Odin will test your strength. Exodus will look at your resolve. Ares will examine your control. Velena will assess your patience. I will question your heart. Are you ready to face us?"._

Naruto responded with a nod of his and Bahamut turned his head to face the other four elementals before he gave them a nod. The giant stone golem lumbered forward and faced the boy.

"_I am Exodus, Spirit of the Earth and I will give you the Trial of the Mind," _he stated. _"Why do you wish to become a shinobi? What purpose will our training do to your future? "Do you wish to feel the victory through the death of your opponents or to bask in the glory of your accomplishments? Do you seek the thrill of a fight against your foes or form a name in which all will fear? Why is it your dream to become strong?"_

The blonde started to think deeply about the golem's question.

'_I wanted to become a shinobi because I eventually wanted to become the Hokage so people would respect me,' _he thought. _'But why do I want to become strong? Is there any reason…'_

_Flashback_

Naruto sat on a stool with a bowl of steaming hot ramen in front of him. He was at his favorite place, Ichiraku Ramen, and started to dig into his meal before he heard a chuckle behind him. It wasn't long before the boy turned and found the Third Hokage right beside him with a bowl in front of him.

"So, how was the ramen?" Sarutobi asked him with a smile plastered on his face.

"It was good, like normal," responded Naruto. "Thanks for taking me out today old man."

"No problem. I don't like being stuck in the office all day doing work and it's pleasant to actually walk around the village once in a while."

"Don't you worry old man. Soon I will be the one who will take that hat from you!"

"Of course you will Naruto," he chuckled before he faced the young boy. "Naruto, do you know why you want to be Hokage?"

"Yeah! So that everyone would notice and respect me!"

"Of course," chuckled the Third before he started to eat his bowl of ramen. "But did you know is more to being a Kage then respect?"

"Really? What is it then old man?"

"In Konoha, shinobi of all genders and rank are what they are today because they want to do one thing. They want to protect those they care about from harm. Whenever they fight, they fight with the desire to protect, and thus allowing them to wield a strength that those with the desire to destroy or kill do not have."

"So being a Kage isn't about respect?"

"Respect comes with the position my boy, but respect is earned and not freely given. If you want to the Hokage, what will you fight for?"

_End of Flashback_

'_Jiji said that strength comes from the desire to protect those they care about,' _thought the blonde before he looked the golem in front of him._ 'Then that's why I want to become a shinobi. I want to protect.'_

"_You have an answer?" _Exodus asked before he received a nod.

"I want to become a shinobi because I want to be able to protect my family, friends, and my loved ones from harm. I will protect Konoha."

"_So you will still protect them even after the suffering they have caused you. Why?"_

"The village is like one big family. There is always going to be arguments and disagreements between people but in the end, they are still family."

"_You chose…Wisely. Most would say power or fame that comes with the name but you did not. You remembered the reason why some of people became shinobi. With your resolve, you will grow strong to do your best to protect and to never give in when the tide goes against you. I, Exodus, give Naruto Uzumaki the blessing of the Earth. May it assist his resolve to defend those he loves."_

"Thank you," said the young Uzumaki before he remembered his manners and gave a small bow towards the stone giant, who was replaced with Ares.

"_I'm next. I am Ares, the Spirit of the Wind and I will test your control," _she said. _"For me to do so, I must make you relived parts of your memory. I understand that you suffered greatly and I am sorry that I must do this."_

With that said, she touched Naruto's forehead with her finger and resulted in the blonde's eyes to slowly drift close. All he heard were whispers before his eyes opened once again. Everything around him was gone and replaced with a crowd of people. The whispers soon became clear as they reached his ears and brought forth memories of his past.

"There _it_ is…"

"I can't believe _it _is here."

"Demon."

"You killed my family!"

"Murdered my wife!"

"Lost my children!"

"Abandoned by the parents."

"Let's kill the demon!"

"Time to rid this village of your foul presence!"

"Children, don't go near him. He is a very bad child."

Soon, the white colored sky starts to darken into night while people started to appear with blunt objects before they moved towards him. The beating started as the several objects made impact with his skin, leaving large bruises or large cuts that leaked blood. The beating continued and blood maintained its tempo as it flowed from his wounds. Naruto felt turmoil but he knew that it wouldn't matter what he did, they would just keep on going. He closed his eyes and waited for more to come, but it never did. Instead, he felt something touch his body.

His eyes opened to see the long dirty blonde hair of Ares. Her tears rolled down her face as she continued to hug the boy close to her. The warmth engulfed Naruto and he felt something he has never felt before. His short arms wrapped around the waist of the woman as he laid his head on her chest. The feeling left him vulnerable but this feeling he longed for. Ares laid her head on top the blonde's head as she continued to hold him. No words were spoken for several minutes as the feeling of despair quickly evolved into one of comfort and longing. Slowly, the two blondes let go of each other as they wiped away their tears.

"Thank you," whispered Naruto. "I've never felt that way before… It felt different yet it's feels like something I've been longing for…"

"_It was nothing Naruto,"_ Ares said as she looked at the boy with a smile on her face. _"I will be here for you. You won't have to be alone anymore like before. Your memories brought me to tears and your emotions were in turmoil but you controlled them. Emotions are important for all living life along with control. An example is that of anger. When anger is not controlled, it will cause mayhem in its wake. You were able to suppress your emotions to a certain extent. I, Ares, give Naruto Uzumaki the blessing of Air. May it help you in your path towards the future."_

"_I believe I will give you the next test. I am Bahamut, the Spirit of Spirit of Fire and I will test your strength,"_ Bahamut says as he moves closer to the boy. _"What is it that you believe? Is there good or evil? Right against wrong?"_

_Flashback_

"_Hey old man," Naruto said as he walked into the Hokage's office to find the Third Hokage sitting on his chair. "Thanks for teaching me how to read! It's helped me with the book I got."_

"_It's no problem my boy," Sarutobi replied with a small chuckle. "So tell me, what was the book about? I forgot about it."_

"_Well, it's about a good buy that beats up a bad guy and then brings peace to the land."_

"_Interesting… Remember that talk we had a few weeks ago?"_

"_Yeah, what about it?"_

"_Here's another thing for you to think about. Is there good and evil in this world?"_

"_Of course there is old man! Everyone knows that there is good and evil!"_

"_True but what happens when you have to commit a deed of evil for the events to bring good?"_

"_I-I don't know…"_

"_Naruto, in the world of shinobi, we must learn to kill others-"_

"_But why must shinobi kill? It's murder!"_

"_True but the act is necessary as killing your opponent maybe your only hope of you and those you protect to survive. You were right when you said that there is good and evil in this world. Greed, lust, thirst for blood, and many others are prime example of that. However, there is a point where the decision between good and evil is simple like black and white. A shinobi killing is an example of that._

"_How?"_

"_Sometimes, we as shinobi must kill to protect those who are innocent. We feel sadness, guilt, and remorse for doing so but we find it necessary to protect those whom we love from harm. There comes a point when killing is a bad thing. When you start to enjoy the feeling of blood on your hands, the blood of innocents and many others, then it is an act of evil. Do you understand what I'm saying?"_

"_I-I think so. You are saying that while there is good and evil, there are some instances where an act of evil is for good. It's all about intent…"_

"_Yes, remember these little things Naruto, and you will become a great shinobi one day. Follow what I have told you and someday, you'll be the one with his hat."_

_End of Flashback_

"There is good and evil in this world," Naruto replied. "Some acts are evil while others are good. However, sometimes an evil act is necessary for good. It is about the intent of the act."

"_Is that what your heart says, is that what you belief?" _Bahamut questioned before receiving a nod. _"In existence, there is always been good and evil. You truly belief that the existence good and evil as black and white but there is also shades of gray. The act committed is always about intent. Make wise decisions and listen to your heart, for your future is all about it. I, Bahamut, give Naruto Uzumaki the blessing of Fire. May it guide him to his future, wherever it may take him."_

"_I believe that it is my test next, Bahamut. I am Velena, Spirit of Water," _Velena said as she moved forward. _"For my test, you must catch this bunny and bring him back to me."_

With that said, the bunny appeared several meters away before it ran down a new corridor. Naruto burst out in a sprint to catch the animal that now currently roams his mind. Every few meters of running, he would find himself at an intersection with the corridors going to different directions and he would choose one of the pathways to go down. After the eleventh intersection, he stopped.

"Where is that thing?" he asked himself before he decided to wait and examine his location for clues.

Suddenly, he heard of splashing all around him and it soon started to get louder, as if the source was getting closer to him. It wasn't long before he saw a ball of white at the end of the hallway and it wasn't long for him to recognize the bunny in all its glory. It ran towards him before it suddenly stopped a few feet away from him. Naruto just stood there with a confused look before he shrugged and held out his hands. The bunny tilted its head in confusion before it stared into the eyes of the blonde boy. Silence soon reigned as the two beings stared into each other's eyes. After several minutes, the bunny suddenly moved forwards before it jumped into the hands of the blonde boy. The boy was surprised at the action but decided against doing anything rash. Instead, he started to pet the animal as he walked towards his starting location. It took him several minutes to find the chambers and once he entered, the spirits all looked at him.

"Here you go," he said as he handed the white animal to Velena. "One bunny as requested."

"_An hour and nineteen minutes," _Velena stated to him. _"That was faster than the others I have tested. Most of them fail to catch my bunny but those that do take around 2 to 3 hours. I assumed to figured out a way to trap him quickly."_

"Actually, he ran towards me and I just waited before he jumped into my hands.:

"_What you didn't know was that this was a test of patience,"_ Velena informed him. _"Having the patience to wait will bring results that no one would be able to predict. With patience, one will be able to think clearly and come up with a better solution. I, Velena, give Naruto Uzumaki the blessing of Water. May it protect him from rashness and impatience. _

"_Now comes the true test," _Odin said as he moved forward with a smirk that made the blonde shiver. _"You will fight me. Give me your best, boy."_

"Bring it on" Naruto said as he assumed a fighting stance.

"_With pleasure!"_

With that said, Odin charged towards Naruto at blinding speeds before he punched into his gut. It launched him back several feet. As the blonde attempted to get up, the spirit appeared and slammed him back into the ground before he kicked him. The boy slams into the ground and created a small trench. He slowly rose from the ground before he wiped away the blood on his face.

"Ugh…" he groaned before he stood up. "Is that all you got?"

"_You wish, brat!"_

An elbow slammed into the young Uzumaki's face and caused him to fly into the arm before Odin's other arm slammed him into the ground. The child's body hits the ground.

"_Don't tell me you're giving up so easily. You are a weakling and this is a waste of time," _growled Odin as he started to walk away. _"You are weak and you will fail to protect what you find precious. They will be dead and you will not be able to do anything about it!"_

Behind him, the boy struggled to get up while blood continued to leak from his mouth. It took him a few moments to stand up but his head was angled so that his hair covered his eyes from view. Odin turned at that moment and saw him standing.

"_So you can still stand?" What is your next move? I would personally suggest that you give up," _taunted Odin. _"Just run away and go back to your hole. Run like the coward you are!"_

"What… did you just call me?"

"_A coward."_

Suddenly, a wave of energy engulfed the boy as he charged the Lightning Spirit with a raised fist. Odin quickly blocked the punch before he dodged another. The blonde boy continued to throw punch after punch, never stopping until Odin disappeared from his view. Suddenly, he felt himself flying through the air before making impact with the ground. He knew that he had no energy left before he tried to push himself up.

"_Stop it Naruto, this test has come to its end," _Odin said as he walked towards the blonde boy. Naruto just ignored the statement as he struggled to push himself up and continued to fall back down. He knew that he failed, he wasn't strong enough. The tears soon started to fall from his eyes.

"WHY? Why am I so weak? I'm worthless and weak," Naruto mumbled as he lets the tears fall. "I can't protect my precious people. I'm so weak, so worthless…."

Odin did not move but Ares and Velena rushed towards him before they kneeled beside his body. They helped him to a sitting position before engulfing him in a hug. They spoke words of comfort to him as the sounds of his sniffles echoed throughout the area. It took the two female spirits a few minutes before the boy was finally able to look at Odin. The Lightning Spirit looked down at the blonde as his hardened eyes softened.

"_Naruto, you have passed my test," _he said, resulting in much surprise to the young Uzumaki. _"You have proven your strength to me in many ways. You fought me head on. That was courageous but stupid move. And every time I put you down, you always found a way to get back up."_

"I wasn't able to get up," Naruto interrupted as his eyes start to leak tears. "I-I wasn't strong enough…"

"_Don't be discouraged," _Odin said. _"Your strength will come over time. You found strength when I mentioned your resolve and when time comes, that will be your focus. It will be what makes you shinobi. I, Odin, give Naruto Uzumaki the blessing of Lightning. May it give him the strength to protect his precious people and hold his resolve true."_

Suddenly, the five elemental spirits glowed with bright colors before it started to grow even brighter. Naruto covered his eyes to prevent himself from being blinded by the light. Unknown to him, the light moved towards the blonde boy before it entered his body. It only lasted a few more minutes before the light finally died down. As Naruto blinked his eyes, he found his vision slowly returning.

"_It is done," _said Bahamut.

"Um… What's done?" asked the young Uzumaki.

"_We have given you the energy to begin our training," _answered Velena.

"_Around this chamber, there are five kanji representing our respected elements," _added Odin as she motioned towards the glowing symbols to the boy. _"It is dull and dim to represent the control you have over our elements: mediocre at best. But as you proceed in our training, it will start to glow brighter until you finish."_

"What happens then?"

"_That is for you to find out," _Ares said before she saw Naruto's pout.

"_Train hard, young one," _rumbled Exodus. _"And you will grow strong to protect. You will become the shield for your loved ones."_

"_Makes us proud," _Ares said as she moved to give the boy a hug. _"We will help guide you down the right path but you must be able to make decisions on your own."_

"_We will always be here for you," _Velena said as she hugged the young Uzumaki after Ares. _"We will always be here for you, don't forget that."_

"Thank you for everything," Naruto said with a smile.

"_It's no problem," _answered Bahamut before he sensed something. _"I sense someone near your body outside, an old man I believe…"_

"That's jiji! He must be so worried" the young Uzumaki said before he started to look around frantically. " Do you know how I can get out of here?"

"_This is your mind. I guess just will yourself to wake up."_

"I'll try that. I guess I'll see you next time…"

"_We'll be here for you, so don't you worry."_

With that said, the blonde faded from the mindscape, leaving the five spirits.

"_He will become strong, there is no doubt about it," _said Odin.

"_I agree," _rumbled Exodus. _"He is a diamond in the rough but with enough time, he can be refined to become something truly magnificent."_

"_Is that why you summoned us here, Lord Kyuubi?" _ asked Velena, only to get no response.

"_We will ask later on, it must have taken a large amount of energy to call us here," _said Bahamut. _"Let us retire and plan a schedule for his training."_

The five spectral beings walked out of the circular chambers. They didn't see the pair of slitted eyes that watched everything had occurred.

'**If only you all knew…'**

_Reality_

It had been several days since Naruto had been admitted to the hospital for injuries that he had received from the severe beatings that almost left him mutilated and maimed. The Third Hokage sat right beside the boy that laid on the bed. He visited regularly with hope to see the boy awaken once more but this day was different from the rest. It began several minutes ago as the boy started to sweat and pant before a bright light encompassed his body. It only lasted a few minutes before being absorbed into his body. The old man started to think about what had just occurred before he heard a soft yawn. His eyes averted to the origin of the sound and found himself to be looking at the sitting boy with outstretched arms. Naruto smacked his lips as if he had woken from a deep slumber.

"Hello Naruto," greeted the Third Hokage.

"Jiji!" Naruto cried as he gave the Kage a hug.

"I'm glad to see you are well. I've been worried about you."

"Thank you jiji… Thank you for saving me…"

"It's no problem."

"Umm… Can ask you a serious question?"

"Sure. I'll answer it the best I can."

"What really happened to the Kyuubi that night?"

"What brought this question forth?" asked a surprised Hokage before he looked at the boy. "The Fourth killed it during that night. Why do you ask?"

"I… met something when I was asleep," answered Naruto.

Unknown to the boy, the elder Sarutobi's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"It… It said its name was Kyuubi and that we were inside me."

"It was a dream Naruto-kun. Nothing more."

"Please Jiji. Please don't lie to me anymore…"

"Very well," the Hokage said with a sigh before he turned around. "Leave us."

Three ANBUs emerged from the shadow before bowing and exiting the room. The Third pulled a piece of paper with several kanji on it and slammed it on the wall. It caused a layer of blue to cover the whole room.

"Now what has the Kyuubi told you?" asked the old man nervously.

"It's a long story Jiji and I'm not sure you're going to believe me when I tell you…"

"Try me."

**A/N: Edited and Completed.**

**R&R. No Flames. If there are any mistakes, review or PM me so I can fix them.  
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**Thank you very much, Shadow**


	3. Chapter 3: Year One of Training

Chapter 3: Year One of Extensive Training

**A/N: ****As stated a long time ago, this is the list of girls who are in the harem:**

**Fem Kyuubi**

**Ice Queens of Konoha (Yugao Uzuki, Kurenai Yuhi, Hana Inuzuka, and Anko Mitarashi)**

**Mei Terumi (Fifth Mizukage)**

**Samui**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the themes recognized within the story. Enjoy**

_Previously on Fate of One: The Elements_

"_I… met something when I was asleep," answered Naruto._

_Unknown to the boy, the elder Sarutobi's eyes narrowed with suspicion. _

"_It… It said its name was Kyuubi and that we were inside me."_

"_It was a dream Naruto-kun. Nothing more."_

"_Please Jiji. Please don't lie to me anymore…"_

"_Very well," the Hokage said with a sigh before he turned around. "Leave us."_

_Three ANBUs emerged from the shadow before bowing and exiting the room. The Third pulled a piece of paper with several kanji on it and slammed it on the wall. It caused a layer of blue to cover the whole room._

"_Now what has the Kyuubi told you?" asked the old man nervously._

"_It's a long story Jiji and I'm not sure you're going to believe me when I tell you…"_

"_Try me."_

_Start of Chapter 3_

"Where should I start?" the Third asked himself while deep in thought. "Beginning would be a great place to start but before I begin, please understand why I had to refrain from telling you about this earlier. You are young and alone, I wouldn't know you would react."

"…" Naruto just remained silent.

"I would spend many of my nights in the office thinking of how to tell you about your burden when you were older without you reacting negatively about it. But it seems that it doesn't matter anymore."

"I always knew that there was something different about me," whispered the blonde. "The constant glares and the hateful things they do to me. I never knew why they hated me so much but they knew what I held within me. I would always question what I did to deserve the beatings. They always treated me like this since I can remember… You were there to help me, jiji. You tried to help me as much as you can along with Doggy-san and Kitty-san…"

"You weren't suppose to be treated like this. The Fourth Hokage wanted you to be treated like a hero," said the elder Sarutobi. "But the civilians wanted you to be killed for what you held. Somehow, I knew what they were going to do and that resulted in me passing a law"

"What law jiji?"

"It's an S-ranked law that I made. It was to prevent the council of passing on the information they learned to the citizens of the village. The punishment was death."

"But somehow, the people learned of my burden…"

"Yes. It wasn't until after a week of constant attacks that I found out what had happened. So I extended the law I created to them. It was to prevent anyone in the future generations from learning of your burden without my or your consent."

"…"

"They always found a way to influence the future generation's thoughts about you and they eventually learned to hate you. The civilian council always find a way to make your life miserable and there is nothing the shinobi council or I can do about it because of your civilian status. It wasn't supposed to be like this…"

"Thank you jiji…"

"No Naruto, I deserve no thanks from you."

"You do. You tried to help me as you can… You're there when I need you…"

"I should apologize to you, Naruto. I should have taken better care of you. I should have done many things that could have made your life better. The civilian council and the elders have become more influential," Hiruzen said with venom and hate. "They took advantage of lame duck period in between the death of the Fourth and my inauguration to pass more laws that made them more powerful…"

"I know that you will eventually find something jiji," Naruto said with a small smile. "You always do…"

"Thank you, my boy," responded the Sarutobi with a smile. "Enough of this, let's talk about your furry friend. I'm very curious of the conversation that occurred between the two of you."

"Well, I met the Kyuubi while I was out," explained Naruto. "It sees me as a jailor and a representative of some sorts…"

"How are you a representative?"

"It was something about me being weak reflects on a weak demon lord. So that led to the deal."

"Very well. I'm curious of this deal?"

"I had to rip part of the seal off-"

"What? Why would you do that?"

"Well, Kyuubi said that it was to allow it to changed my body and make it stronger."

"What are these changes? And what does the Kyuubi get out of all of this?"

"Fur ball said something about his senses being linked to mine. I get better senses, stamina, reflex, and larger chakra pools. Also, I can use the elements."

"The elements? You mean elemental chakra manipulations, right?"

"Uh… I guess. I mean all they told me I would be able to control the elements," Naruto said with a thinking face. "I think they said Earth, Lightning, Fire, Air, and Water."

"They are going to be my teachers!" said an excited boy. "They said they will help me become strong!"

"Who are these people who told you this?"

"They're my new friends jiji. They were Ares-san, Bahamut-san, Odin-san, Exodus-san, and Velena-san."

"Very unusual names for anyone around here. Do you know where they are from?" questioned the Hokage.

"I don't know much jiji," answered the blonde. "Kyuubi summoned them so…"

"Very well. Is there anything else you wanted to tell me, Naruto?" asked the old man to the listening boy before receiving a negative. "Hmm…. Well, it appears that the Kyuubi might be telling the truth, but will you let me look at the seal? I just want to make sure that nothing will go wrong."

"I guess so jiji," answered the boy. "But where is the seal and how would I show it to you?"

"Well, the seal is on your stomach and to answer your second question, let me handle that part. I do need you to lift your shirt up."

"Ok then…"

Naruto grabbed the bottom of his shirt before pulling up. It exposed his bandaged body and caused a wave of pain to shoot up his nervous system. With his navel now exposed, the Third Hokage leaned down and placed his hand on it. He channeled chakra into his hand and it then traveled to the boy's body, revealing an intricate seal. Black lines trailed around the boy's navel in the form of curves, spirals, lines, and kanji.

'_Nothing seems to be out of place with the seal,' _thought the old man. _'He seems to have a large amount of chakra for a child his age. I'm not sure if it's because of his heritage or because of the Kyuubi, but I know that he will have a great future ahead of him.'_

"It seems that there is nothing wrong with the seal," said the Hokage. "Nothing has changed even though you removed a portion of it. Though, if anything does change on the seal, come to me immediately."

"I will jiji," replied the Uzumaki. "Uh…"

"What is it Naruto?"

"I want to become stronger… I want to become a shinobi just like you and be able to protect my precious people. Can… Can you help me become strong?"

"I-I don't know Naruto… I mean, I do want to help you in any way I can but that would result in more problems for the both of us."

"Jiji, you told a long time ago that each shinobi had a purpose for serving. You said that it was the reason why constantly push themselves to become stronger. They would gladly sacrifice themselves in order to allow their purpose to continue. I know what my purpose is. I will become strong and be the shield that protects the innocent and those I care about," the boy said with conviction. "Please jiji, help me become the shield."

"Are you sure about this, my boy?" questioned the old man. "If you start this path, chances are that you won't be able to turn away from it. Are you truly committed on your ideals that you would follow them to the end, no matter where the road leads?"

"Yes."

"Hmmmm… I guess I will allow it, but there will be several things done to ensure that you are following through."

"What will they be jiji?"

"First of all, this will be classified as a long term mission with some of my ANBU. This will be the cover of your training. Next, the ANBU will report your progress to me occasionally and at the end of every year, you will have a series of tests to evaluate the current level of your abilities. This will be filed on a report that will only be seen by eyes," the Third stated seriously.

"Thank you jiji," Naruto said with his eyes watery. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

The boy lunged forward and trapped the old man in a massive embrace, ignoring the cry from his wounds from the sudden agitation and movement. The elder Sarutobi just moved his arms to hold the boy and lightly wrapped his arms around the blonde. He felt his robes starting to become wet from the waters coming from the blondes eyes. A small smile graced the man's lips as he looked through the window into the clear skies.

'I wish your parents could see you now. They would be so proud of how you're turning out to be. The Will of Fire burned in them and now you inherited their flame.'

"Now, I believe you need to rest," Sarutobi said to the boy, who winced in pain. "You strained yourself too much. We will talk more tomorrow when you are well."

"I guess," said Naruto as he wince again from the pain. "See you tomorrow jiji."

With that said, the young Uzumaki lied down on his bed while the old Hokage stood up from his chair. The blonde child closed his eyes as a small smile graced his lips and the elder Sarutobi silently deactivated the barrier that covered the room before exiting the premises.

_Few Days Later_

It would take a few days for the young Uzumaki to heal completely from all the wounds he received from the last beating. He remained trapped within the white room of the hospital and faced extreme boredom from the sheer lack of events occurring. A nurse frequently checked on his condition every few hours until today. She had left him alone until he heard the room's door open. His eyes looked towards the opening and found himself staring at two shinobi. They looked the same for the most part except for certain features like the decoration of the mask and the hair. The first shinobi had on a mask that resembled a dog with gravity defying grey hair. Most of the features the blonde saw gave him a conclusion that the first shinobi was a male. The other shinobi had a mask that looked like a cat with long purple hair that reached the middle of her back. He instantly knew that the ninja was a female. He was immediately snapped out of his thoughts when the male started to speak to him.

"Hello Naruto," he greeted. "It's nice to see you again."

"Huh?" the blonde asked with a confused look.

"You don't remember us, huh?" asked the female as she faked a sniffle. "I thought you would remember me…"

It took the boy several seconds before his thoughts lined up and he was able to identify the two beings that stood before him.

"Doggy-san, Kitty-san!" he cried out as he launched himself towards the two and engulfed them in an embrace.

"Now you remember us," Dog said with a hearty chuckle while he returned the boy's hug.

"It's been a while since I last saw you guys! What are you two doing here anyway?"

"So we can't visit our favorite blonde ball of sunshine?" asked Cat as she returned his embrace.

"Well…"

"Forget about it," interrupted Dog. "Hokage-sama asked us to escort you to his office. Take as much time as you need. We don't need you getting hurt again."

"I'll be careful," replied Naruto as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position on his bed.

"You better be mister," Cat said sharply. "If you hurt yourself because you weren't careful…"

She left the sentence hanging as the blonde boy on the bed was slowly shivering in fright. He just nodded his head quickly before he grabbed his clothes. The two shinobi exited the room and allowed the boy to dress himself. It would be several minutes later before the blonde boy exited the room wearing a bright orange jumpsuit.

"Ready to go Naruto?" asked Dog.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Ok then. Let's go."

It would take the two several minutes before they finally reached the Kage Tower. It was around noontime and the roads were busy with people. As Naruto walked through the busy streets, the two ANBU saw the hateful stares aimed at the boy. Unconsciously, both of their hands started to drift towards their weapons pouch at the sight people hating another being because of a series of unfortunate events that resulted in the boy becoming a Jinchuuriki. It only took the group a few minutes before they arrived at the entrance of the Kage Tower. Upon their entrance into the large cylindrical like building, the number of glares lessened to a certain degree as many who resided within the building were shinobi. The group then continued their trek to the Hokage's Office. Occasionally, they would pass some civilians who would glare at the boy until they finally reached a set of doors. Right by the door was a woman with a desk in front of her. Her face was buried in the papers but she could still tell whether someone was in front of her.

"Good afternoon, do you have a reservation with Hokage-sama?" she asked without looking up from her work.

"ANBU members Cat and Dog escorting Naruto Uzumaki for his one o' clock meeting with Hokage-sama," answered Cat.

When the secretary heard this, she looked up from her work to see the three figures and just shrugged her shoulders. She pressed the button on her desk and the sound of small gears grinding echoed within the chambers before the door opened.

"Well, here we are. The Hokage's Office."

_Within the Hokage's Office_

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a busy man. He constantly worked almost around the clock because of the constantly growing pile of paperwork. The growth of work eventually led to less time for the old man to do things he desired like spending his time with his family and reading his favorite novels. Though, throughout the constant hours of work, he still finds some time to be able to sit back and read his orange novel. While he loved his literature dearly, his mind continued to drift towards the young Uzumaki child and the talk that had occurred between them several days ago.

'I told him that I would help him,' thought the old man. 'But the question is how? I guess the basics is a good place to start so a book about to access his chakra and also something about chakra control from how big his reserves are right now. Then, there are the three jutsus needed for the academy. Other than that, I don't know what else he would need. I just can't give him a Taijutsu style because I don't know if his body would be suited for it. And precision with projectile weaponry can only be achieved through practice and I don't know if he wants to learn how to use any close combat weapons…'

He didn't notice that the doors to his office were opened by a group of three beings and just let out another giggle. Dog silently sniggered behind his mask while Cat fumed internally over the book that the Hokage had in his hand. Naruto just looked at the old man in front of him. On his desk were towers of papers while the Hokage sat on the chair with a pipe in his mouth and an orange book. A few seconds went by and Cat decided to let out of small cough. Unfortunately, it resulted in the towers of paper to fall down and buried the old Kage alive. He crawled his way out of the mountain of documents and glared at the two sheepish looking ANBU. His glare softened when he spotted a boy with blonde hair standing in between the two.

"Hello Naruto. I'm quite in the predicament but that won't stop us from having our talk," greeted the old Hokage while glaring at the two ANBU members. "How are you this fine day?"

"I'm feeling much better than before," Naruto answered. "Especially since I got out of the hospital. Do you need help jiji?"

"No, no. I'm fine but thank you for the offer," chuckled the Third before he looked at the other two beings that stood by the boy. "Dog, Cat, you are both dismissed. We will be talking later about certain subjects."

They nodded before disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

"Let's make sure no one can hears us first," said the Hokage as he activated the privacy seal."Now Naruto, I have thought about our conversation quite a bit and I have several ideas on what I can get you but I don't know what else. Do you have anything specific in mind? Something you wish to learn?"

"Let me think for a second jiji."

'_Naruto?'_

"Huh? Who said that?"

"What is it, my boy?"

'_Naruto, it's Bahamut,' _said the spirit. _'We were working the last few nights to establish this link with you so we can communicate with each other.'_

"That's so cool!"

The Sarutobi just looked at the boy with confusion as he watched the blonde speak. He didn't know that he was holding a conversation with the beings within his body.

'_Just think what you want to say my boy.'_

'_Oh ok. So what is it that you need, Bahamut-sensei?'_

'_We were able to finish planning our curriculum…'_

'_What's that word mean, sensei?'_

'_What we're going to teach you. Anyway, ask the Hokage to tell you what he was going to give you.'_

'_Ok sensei.'_

"Naruto, you awake?" asked the Third as he waved his hand in front of the blonde boy, who started to blink a few times. "Are you back with us in the land of the living?"

"Yeah, I'm back jiji," replied the boy. "Uh, jiji, sensei wanted to know what you were going to give me."

"The only things I could think of was a how to book about accessing your chakra, basic control, and academy jutsus. I couldn't really think of anything else because of certain variables."

He turned to see the confused look on the boy's face. The old man started to go over what he said and mentally hit himself.

"Variables are things that can't be determined right away. Like I couldn't give you a Taijutsu style because I don't know which would suit you the best."

"Oh ok… I guess I understand…"

"So what does your sensei need for me to give you?"

'_Those are acceptable pieces of material but you will also need…'_

"Jiji, he said that I need some stuff on the Basics of Genjutsu, Forging, Anatomy, Cooking, and Chakra Sensing. He also said the scroll for… uh… what's it called again?"

'_Shadow Clone Jutsu.'_

"A jutsu scroll on Shadow Clone Jutsu."

The old Kage wrote down all the things that were said but as the last item entered his ears, his head snapped up to look at the boy.

"Are you sure that is the name of the jutsu?"

"Yeah, that's what sensei said. Is there a problem with that?"

"That jutsu is labeled a B-rank Kinjutsu from the fact that it requires a large amount of chakra to create a clone. When solid clones are made, they each have an equal fraction of chakra. Its counterpart was labeled an A-rank Kinjutsu for the exact reason. Some people have actually died because of the chakra needed to use these jutsus."

"Uhh… Sensei said that it wouldn't be problem because of something that is in my chakra. He said that it isn't the Kyuubi's chakra and that you would understand what I'm talking about. Do you know?"

Hiruzen's face hardened quickly as the boy mentioned it. He knew what the boy's sensei was talking about because the female Uzumaki mentioned it to him when she married the Fourth Hokage.

"I'll get the items that you need."

With that, the Hokage quickly left the room. His thoughts raced through his head as he started to piece the information together. It wasn't long before he reached the Kage's library. His hands quickly flew through the scrolls as he grabbed a few and placed them in a pile.

'_I can't believe that Naruto already activated that portion of it,'_ Sarutobi thought as he looked at the scrolls in front of him. _'They both said that there was a small possibility that it would activate because of the differences in their origin but somehow, at least one of them is active within him. Knowing the boy's ability of being unpredictable, I'm willing to bet that the other one is either active or is close to it. I guess I better give him those scrolls as well just in case it is true.'_

With that thought, he pulled out several more scrolls and placed them on the growing pile.

'_So far, there's _How to Channel your Chakra for Dummies_, _Controlling your Chakra, Forging for Beginners, Basic Guide to Cooking, the Human Body, _the basics for Genjutsu, Minato's Guide to Sealing, and the four scrolls from both his parents. Somehow, I have a feeling that he will follow their path and become as great as them. Hell, he has the potential to become greater than they were. I hope you're both watching.'_

The Kage grabbed the pile of scrolls and books before placing them in a bin. He carried it back to the office, where he found the boy sitting on his chair while looking out towards the Hokage Monument. His eyes held a look he had seen several times when he looked at Minato. He chuckled quietly, but it was loud enough for Naruto to notice his arrival.

"Hey jiji," greeted Naruto before he noticed the bin filled with items.

"How's the view?" asked the old man as he placed the bin on the desk.

"It's great… But the view from the top of the Monument is better."

"I couldn't agree more. I've been there several times with my team back in the day. I know that Asuma loved the view when I brought him up there when he was still a child."

"…"

"You will become a Kage someday, Naruto. You have the potential and I have a feeling that your achievements will become unparalleled. I just hope that I will still be around to see that day."

"Same here."

"Anyway, here are the things that you asked. I added a few more scrolls in there," said the Hokage as he pointed towards the two pale blue and two dark crimson scrolls. "These four scrolls are very important and all I asked is that you allow me to keep them until I deem that you are ready to learn of their secrets."

"Sure thing jiji!"

"Well, come back tomorrow and I'll give these all to you. Pack your things, Naruto," said the Kage, which earned him a confused look from the boy. "Tomorrow, you will be shown your second home and I promise you that it will be safer than your current one right now. Also, your training will begin. We will discuss this tomorrow."

"Thank you jiji."

"It is no problem, Naruto."

The old Kage released the privacy seal and allowed the boy to exit the office.

_The Next Day_

The next day came quicker than the boy could ever anticipate. His night consisted of him within his mindscape where he learned more about his senseis.

Apparently, Ares was a maiden during the Ancient Era of the land. She had a pure heart and gentle soul like the soft breeze on a windy day but when she was angered, she was as dangerous as a hurricane. This fact scared the blonde boy but the female spirit reassured him that she would not do anything like that to him. During her time alive, she lived in Land of Wind where the forests and wildlife thrived until Shukaku came. Shukaku, also known as the Ichibi no Shukaku, was the Demon Lord of the First Circle and was deadly in the arts of wind and sand. It was through his power that the forests of the Land of Wind became the modern day's deserts.

Next was Velena. She was a princess from the Ancient Era and nicknamed the "Princess of the Eternal blue" for two reasons. The first was because her hair and eyes constantly reminded everyone of the ocean. The second reason was because she always tried to close to water, as if she was constantly drawn to it. During her life, she was respected for her fairness to all whom she ruled and cared for who live in her kingdom. One day, her kingdom was attacked and the tower in which she resided broke, causing it to fall into the endless sea with her trapped within.

Exodus was a man whose came generations after the Ancient Era, which soon became known as the Era of the Forgotten because of the lack of information found about it. He served as a paladin who rode throughout the countries to help defend the innocents from the dangers. It eventually led to his alias of "Angel's Guard", which eventually led to "Guardian of Stone" for his ability to take anything thrown at him. He was well respected all throughout the land for his judgment of the despicable until he met Bahamut on the road. The two eventually became friends after several more encounters in which led to the decision of both of them travelling together. They fought together for years until they were assaulted with an army two thousand strong. It would be several days of combat before a decisive victory could be seen. The army was slaughtered but the wounds that had been inflicted on both warriors eventually led to their deaths.

Bahamut was also a man from the Era of the Forgotten. He served as a knight in an order called "Thirteen Dragons", where he served as the Fifth. He was renowned for his courageousness in combat, pure determination in fights, and bloodlust. This eventually formed his alias of "Bloody Maw" because of the blood that covered him in his fights. All his enemies would see was the red glint of his dragon shaped armor before dying. It would years later that he met Exodus in a tavern. The two found many things in common between them and they became acquaintances. Several run ins later, the two became inseparable. The last thing that he did was slaughter an army with Exodus beside him before he succumbed to his wounds, not knowing that his friends would follow soon after.

Finally, there was Odin. He was different from the rest because he came several centuries after the Era of the Forgotten, in a time period called the "Era of Retribution". He was as samurai with unmatched skills using his katana or his double-sided sword in an S-shape. It was frequently used one handed in coordination with a shield but it can be split in half to form two blades. During his life, he followed his code until he met a demon. The beast emerged out of nowhere and attacked a city. He attacked the demon and wounded it, making it stop its assault. This transformed him into a demon hunter. He slain many demons, armies would fall in a matter of hours. It was once said that he killed many using a unique move called "_Zanteksuken"_. He was eventually casted into Makai after he killed a greater demon. He wandered the plains until he was cursed by a devil, eventually turning him into a demon. When asked by the blonde boy if it was possible for him to learn such a technique, Odin answered that it would only be taught to those he found worthy.

The boy started on his morning rituals after he finished mentally organizing his thoughts from the night before. His routine started with a work out that consisted of push-ups, sit-ups, and mountain climbers. After his work out, he ate his breakfast that consisted of some toast and milk that remained untouched for a few days. The dishes were watched soon after before he cleaned himself and put on a clean set of clothes on. AS he headed towards the door, he grabbed his back that contained some of his valuables that his constant attackers weren't able to find. It wasn't long before he arrived at the Kage Tower. He sped up the stairs and greeted the secretary, Mika Unomi, before he entered the Hokage's office. As soon as he entered the room, he spotted the old man furiously working through the large pile of paperwork with no sign of stopping soon. The old Hokage worked through the paper so fast, it seemed that smoke started to emerge from the top of the writing utensil.

Inside the boy's mind, the five spirits just sweat drop as they watched the scene in front of the boy.

'_Is he even reading those papers?' _asked Exodus.

'_It would be safe to assume he might have read a few of them but skipped the rest,'_ answered the Spirit of Lightning.

'_Do you think we should help him?'_ asked Bahamut. _'I mean he did want Naruto here for a reason.'_

'_I guess we should,'_ answered Velena before she connected with the blonde boy. _'Hey Naruto?'_

'_Yes sensei?' _responded the Uzumaki.

'_I think you should help the Hokage out with his problem.'_

'_How? I mean I don't even know how to deal with that much paper! I'm even pretty sure that they are copying themselves every second!'_

'_First, get his attention and tell him you know how to deal with his problem.'_

'_Uh ok…'_

"Uh… Hey jiji," Naruto greeted with a wave,

"Hello there Naruto, I would love to chat but as you can see," responded the Hokage before he gestured to the pile of papers around him. "I have a lot of work to finish."

"But—"

"Give me a few minutes Naruto."

"But jiji—"

"Can we talk later?"

"Jiji! I know how to deal with your paper problem!"

The Hokage just blinked a few times as he stared at the panting boy in front of him. A disbelieving look was plastered on the man's face.

"W-What?! You know how to defeat the bane of the Kages?"

"Bane of the Kages?"

"Yes! These blasted pieces of paper!" ranted the Third Hokage. "I swear that they are duplicating by the dozens just to make sure that I don't finish. I know for a fact that the other Kages have to deal with this problem as well! These are demons!"

"Wow… I didn't know that it was this bad…"

'_Naruto, I know for a fact that even the gods and goddesses have to deal with paperwork except at a greater scale when compared to the Kage's,' _said Ares.

'_That must suck…'_

"Well, how do I defeat my mortal enemy? This better not be a prank or else… I want to rid myself of this demon…"

"W-Well… why don't you use the Shadow Clone Jutsu," answered Naruto.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu?" mumbled the old man. "Of course! Thank you my boy! You just saved me from a terrible fate!"

"Um… What are you talking about jiji?"

"I guess that you haven't read the scroll about this jutsu. Well, the Shadow Clone Jutsu is a special clone jutsu. It was labeled a Kinjutsu for two reasons. The first is the chakra needed to be able to make a clone and the second is the mental feedback,"

"What?"

"Whatever this clone learns is automatically sent back to you, the original. It's very useful during missions. I suggest that you read it when you can as it will be vital for your training," said the old Hokage, receiving a nod from the blonde boy. "Now, since you helped me defeat this monstrousity, I will gladly like to repay you. Is there anything you need, my boy?"

"I don't know jiji. I mean I need stuff to help me train but other than that, I can't think of anything…"

"Well, if anything comes to mind, don't be afraid to ask as long as it is within reason."

"Ok thanks jiji! Is that all?"

"I believe so," answered the elder Sarutobi with a small smile. "Going off to start your training, Naruto?"

"Yup! I don't want to let you down!"

"As part of our agreement, you will have an ANBU with you to ensure your progress. He will be the one to bring me the reports of your progress. As for the examinations, let's say that they will be every year. Your file will be kept hidden to all eyes except mine until the time has come to reveal yourself. The ANBU I assigned you will meet you at the Market District so you can buy your supplies. Speaking of, which of the training grounds will you be using for your training?"

"Snake-chan's playground! I like going there a lot since it always kept me safe!"

"What?!"

The word echoed all around the room. Sarutobi remained still in shock as he looked at the blonde boy who just informed him of his consant entrance in Training Ground 44, aka the Forest of Death, and one of the most dangerous locations in the Land of Fire up to date. The ANBU stationed all around the room coiuldn't help but stare at the young Uzumaki when he voiced his claim. It was considered to be impossible to go into the area by oneself and come out alive. The only person to do that was Anko Mitarashi, also known as Snake. Not even the famous Itachi Uchiha, aka Weasel, went into the forest without someone with him.

"Are you sure Naruto?" asked a very timid Hokage. "That area is very dangerous for many reasons. There is a reason why very few people go in there alone…"

"Hai jiji! Snake-chan is almost always there with me! She played me a few times and since I have your awesome ninja with me, I won't get hurt!"

"Alright then," said the Third with a sigh. "Just promise that you will be safe. I don't anything happening to you because I allowed you to train there."

"I promise you jiji! I'll be careful with what I do!"

"Very well. Go along now. That ANBU member will meet you soon," he said before he faced the pile of papers as the boy left the office. "Now to defeat you, you vile vermin!"

The multiple copies of the Third Hokage leapt at the large stacks of paper with malicious intent in his eyes as he daydreamed about standing on top a mountain of signed papers while large flames roared in the background. His dream self dove into a nearby mountain of books of orange Icha Icha books before starting to read.

_Streets of Konoha_

In the middle of the busy streets of Konoha, ANBU operative Bear walked down the Merchant District but something was different about him. He felt exposed to the world for several reasons. The first reason was because he was wearing a standard Jonin uniform that consisted of a mass green flak jacket with a black long sleeve shirt underneath, black shinobi pants with white tape wrapped around his right thigh, and a pair of shinobi sandals. He looked like a normal shinobi with short black hair and egg-shaped face. He was deep in thought as he reminisced about all the things he has done. Throughout his time as a shinobi, he had completed a large variety of missions ranging from simple C-ranked to difficult S-rank and yet, none of them could compare to his current one. His last mission was a simple C-rank mission to take out a bandit camp at the borders. When they arrived at their destination, they found the camp but instead of bandits, they found rather strange creatures. They disappeared into the shadows a minute later, leaving the group of ANBU alone. So when the Hokage called him for his next mission, he was certain that he wouldn't be surprised.

_Flashback_

_Bear entered the Hokage's office to find several copies of them all around the room working on the stacks of paper. The towers of paper were slowly being cut down in size quickly as the copies read and sign the papers. The ANBU agent coughed softly, grabbing the attention of the busy Kages and forced him to pause his work. Rather the original paused while the clones started to work again._

"_Ah Bear. I know this might be rather short notice, but I require for you to do this mission," the Hokage said as he picked up a nearby scroll. "It's a High A-rank, maybe even S-rank long term mission should you accept. I have several reasons why I have chosen you for this mission."_

"_Of course, Hokage-sama," answered the ANBU before he grabbed the scroll and opened it to read its contents. "Hokage-sama, are you-"_

"_I am very sure of my decision Bear. I believe that by doing this, it will help him survive in the future. It may deprive him a childhood that he deserves but no child deserves to live the life he was forced to live."_

"_Of course Hokage-sama. Do you know how long this mission maybe?"_

"_It will depend on his progress. But do you understand your mission?"_

"_Of course Hokage-sama. My mission is to act as a messenger between you and Naruto-san but to also act as a teacher for him. I am not allowed to wear my ANBU equipment or anything that will connect me to my ANBU identity of 'Bear'. I will also receive A-rank pay every week to pay for my own necessities until I can go on my own missions again."_

"_Good. There is also a good chance that Naruto may know that you are Bear even though you don't wear your mask so don't be surprised if he finds out. Do you understand what you have to do?"_

"_Yes Hokage-sama."_

"_Good. You are to meet him at the Market District. Here is some money. Get him some equipment and better clothes, preferably proper shinobi attire."_

_The Kage handed the ANBU a wad of bills before he exited the room to fulfill the answer._

_End Flashback_

'_Cat was so furious when I told her that she had to deal with all of my work while I was off in addition to hers,'_ thought the ANBU member as a picture of his Cat masked teammate flashed through his mind. _'I was lucky that Dog-sempai was there or else…'_

His thoughts drifted off as his eyes caught sight of a mop of blonde hair right beside a store he knew very well. It wasn't just him though. All ANBU, most Jonin, and some Chunin knew that this store was the place to go for all types of shinobi items that range from the basic kunai and shurikens to ANBU combat armor. He walked closer to the boy to find him deep in thought as he looked at the a certain item on display. Upon further inspection, Bear saw that it wasn't an item but rather several items. The first is a red belt/sash that went around the waist with five holsters for weapons on the left and right side. The second item was a shoulder plate with five holsters attached to the back of it. Finally, the last item consisted of similarly shaped knives that were a little longer than a kunai but not as long as a foot long dagger. It was also slightly thinner from an average kunai that gave the impression of a more silent flight as it spins towards its target. The ANBU turned his gaze from the weapon to find that Naruto's gaze still lingered on the items. He let out a small cough, loud enough for the blonde boy to turn towards him. Bear examined the boy to find his eyes bore into him with a calculating look while his body stance showed tension, as he was ready to move at a moments notice.

"Hello there, Naruto," greeted the unmasked ANBU, leading to a discreet yet shocked look on the blonde's face. "Don't be frightened, young one. Hokage-sama sent me as per the agreement."

"Ah ok!" Naruto replied as a relieved expression graced his face before it transformed to one of happiness. "Uh… Can you tell me what your name is?

"The name is Yamato."

"Ok, thanks Yamato-san. Let's go then. I was just looking at what they had."

"Wait, first I want you to tell me what you think about those knives you were looking at…"

"Um… Well, they were interesting in how they looked. Much different from the average kunais. It might fly better than a kunai. Why do you ask?"

"Hokage-sama gave me some money so you could get some tools and supplies to help you."

"Really? Thank you!"

Yamato just chuckled as he followed the blonde boy into the shop.

"Hello, welcome to the Dragon's Den!" greeted a store clerk. "How may I help you today?"

"We're here to get some supplies for a future shinobi," Yamato replied, which earned him a nod from the clerk before he looked at Naruto. "I think it would be best for you to go get the things you think you might need or want. Remember, you need to get some training clothes and also clothes for travel. Then, don't forget that basic shinobi tools like kunais, shurikens, and other things that you might need."

With that said, Naruto slowly walked deeper into the store. His first stop was the clothing section and after he looked around, he selected his clothing. It consisted of several fishnet shirts, some dark colored shirts, a few shorts, numerous dark green combat pants with multiple pockets, and an abundant amount of long sleeve shirts that varied in color. Along with these articles of clothing were several sets of steel toed combat boots, a large quantity of socks, and a small amount of gloves, both normal and fingerless. During his clothing spree, he found himself staring at the items at the display before he sighed and walked away. Unknown to him, an old man had spotted him there before he walked away.

On the other side of the store, Yamato was going around and picked up Naruto's shinobi tools. This included several sets of kunais, shurikens, senbons and weights for wrist, ankles, and torso. Seven sets of moss green flak jackets also found their way to the pile along with several instruction books and weapons pounches that range from the circular ones for the waist to the rectangle ones for the thighs. He had seen Naruto looking at the display while he was grabbing the weights before he left. Unknown to Yamato, Naruto had migrated back to the display while an old man had started to move towards him.

"Hello there, child," he said, scaring the blonde boy out of his wits.

"Oh hello," he responded with some fear.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, my boy. However, I noticed that you were rather interested in those throwing knives over there."

"Of course sir. They seem very different from the other weapons here. I just wonder why no one else is interested in them."

"They're special weapons, young one. They are specifically used for throwing, but it can also be used for close combat if needed. It's just that other shinobi seem to favor a more multi-purpose weapon like a kunai better. Plus, they also believe that the shurikens are more effective and balanced better when compared to these items."

"I don't think I agree with them on that…"

"And why do you say that?" asked the old man with curiousity.

""I don't know. It's just looks like that those knives are better balanced than that kunai over there," answered the blonde as he pointed at the kunai a few feet away.

"Haha, you have a good eye kid. The names Kenshin, proud blacksmith and maker of that fine set of weapons on display."

"Oh! I'm very honored to meet you sir!" Naruto said before he bowed.

"Now that you know my name, can I learn yours?" asked Kenshin with a voice that reminded Naruto of the Third Hokage.

"Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki…"

"Naruto eh? A strong name… Maelstrom if I'm correct," said the man out loud. "Anyway, since you are the first to be interested on those items of mine, I'll make a deal with you, kid. Do you want to become its first owner?"

"I would love to!" answered the blonde boy with excitement.

"Haha, you remind me so much of someone I used to know a long time ago," laughed Kenshin. "Anyway, tell your friend of yours to gather all of your purchases and follow me."

Naruto ran through the store before he met Yamato. The boy relayed the message and sped off before Yamato could utter a word. Yamato just sighed before he created a clone to assist him in carrying the many items. He meets the blonde boy at a doorway with an old man right beside him. The old man opened the door and ushered the group of three through it.

"Now, let's talk about our deal-"started Kenshin before being interrupted by Yamato.

"What deal?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"It's nothing serious lad," said Kenshin as he twirled one of his hands. "It's just for the items on display. I believe your young charge here might have the ability to use them to their full potential. You see, I believe that the younger generation of shinobi care more about how impressive a jutsu is instead of their purpose, no offense to you."

"None taken," replied Yamato with a shrug. "I would agree with that statement to a certain extent."

"Naruto, the act of killing can be achieved with the use of a weapon, whether it be a blade, your fists, or a jutsu. What I want for my part of the deal is for you to use the weapons you have effectively. Don't be flashy and act to impress people. You are going to be a shinobi, a trained killer, and killers strike when the time is right quickly and effectively. Any items you purchase from here will be discounted if you promise to use my weapons to their maximum potential."

"Sure! I would be honored!"

With that said, the old man went further into the room before he returned with multiple cases of varying sizes. He placed them on a nearby table before he opened them one by one.

"OK, here we go," Kenshin said with happiness. "A full set of armor along with several cases of throwing knives. Why don't you try it on?"

With a shrug, Naruto stepped forward to the first case to spot a rather large metal shoulder plate with several straps on them. He took it from its resting place and held it in place on his right shoulder as Kenshin worked with the straps that went from his shoulder plate to the left side of his waist before going back up on the backside. It would take a minute or two before it was fully strapped down and tightened down. Naruto moved the next case and grabbed a belt five to six centimeters in width. He wrapped it around his waist before tightening it. After he found it satisfactory, he backed up a meter or so and examined himself on a nearby mirror.

"There we go," said Kenshin before he stepped back to examine his work. "Look at you now kid. Now we have a real shinobi on our hands now. How are they?"

"Pretty good actually," answered Naruto as he continued to look at his reflection.

"Great! On the back of the shoulder plate and along the sides of the belts are holsters for the knives. Practice using them. They are different when compared to a kunai. And also, I sometimes create new things here and there. If you happen to stop by every year or so, I might have something for you if you prove to me that you mastered the items I gave you first. Now why don't we take those off of you and pay for all of these items so you can be on your way?"

Yamato, Naruto, and the Yamato clone agreed before they unstrapped the blonde's equipment off of him before they placed them back into their respected cases.

"Well, the grand total is 264,374 ryou for everything including the discount," said the old man before Yamato pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Ah, a voucher from the Hokage eh? Well, let me get all these things sealed for you so you can be on your merry way."

It would be a few minutes before all items purchased would be sealed away and Naruto took this as an opportunity to change. He was able to grab a set of clothes and went into a dressing room. He exited with his horrendous orange jumpsuit in hand. A solid black long sleeve paired with black shinobi pants and a pair of steel toed boots now covered his body. The orange jumpsuit, on the other hand, was tossed into the nearest dumpster after the duo exited the building with a storage scroll containing their purchases in hand. The two walked down the streets, learning more about each other as the minutes go by. An interesting fact that Yamato learned was that Naruto often came to the Forest of Death to play with Snake, who he knew was Anko. He arrived to the conclusion that the frequent visits to the forest must mean that the boy knew it like the back of his hand. The shinobi's thoughts were proven true as the blonde boy led them through the barbed gates of the training grounds before entering the thicket of wildlife.

The sounds of wildlife echoed all around the duo as they continue to walk through the forest until they reach a rather large clearing after an hour passed. Sunlight broke through the dense layers of leaves of the trees. Yamato just looked at the empty space before he spotted the smile on the boy's face before he had started to walk forward. Naruto suddenly vanished from his view, completely surprising Yamato. Unsure what was about to happen, he tightens his hold on the scroll while his other hand drifted into his pouch before pulling out a kunai. He walked forward several yards before feeling something strange. He shrugged it off as he looked at his surroundings. In front of him was a large wooden house.

"What is this place?" he asked with a surprised look as he examined the surrounding area. "How can nobody see this place?"

"This is Snake-chan's house!" Naruto said with a smile on his face. "I helped her build it whenever I had time. It wasn't just me though. She had some other people help her too. Then she told me she got someone to write on the wall so no one can see it unless they pass that invisible wall."

"This is pretty interesting place. Still, I better let Snake-san that we will be using her house for an indefinite period of time," Yamato informed him. "Also, I have to attend a meeting with my colleagues and report back to Hokage-sama."

"Uhhh…" said Naruto with a confused look on his ace.

"Sorry, why don't you try and learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu so you can begin your training," suggested the shinobi before he vanished via shunshin.

_Training montage with 'Eye of the Tiger By Survivor' playing in the background_

_Naruto reads the book, 'How to Access You Chakra for Dummies' before attempting to do so after completing the book. _

_1 Hour Done_

_He makes the cross handsign for the jutsu before looking at the scroll that lays on a stump in the middle of the clearing. Chakra surges into the handsign before a cloud appears, only to show a pale, sick looking clone with color faded in most areas and some body parts missing._

_3 Hours Done_

_Panting from exhaustion, Naruto looks at his most recent attempt to find that it is still missing some parts but the color is mostly there. Making the handsign again, he uses the Shadow Clone once more._

_5 Hours Done_

_The blonde leans against one of the large trees while panting loudly. He tries to perform the jutsu again, only to find himself blacking out and travelling back to the realm of unconsciousness for the third time within the training session._

_7 Hours Done._

_Training montage over._

_After Training_

'_Ugh,' _thought Naruto as he struggled to push himself up. _'That was intense… I don't think I'll be able to get to bed now…'_

With that thought, the blonde collapsed against a tree he had been laying against before he entered the land of dreams. It would be an hour before Yamato appeared from a swirl of leaves.

'_Cat really chewed me out,' _sighed Yamato. _'Maybe I shouldn't have given her all that work…'_

Earlier in the day, Cat had spent over an hour chewing him out because of the large amount of work she gained because he was on a 'special mission' for the Hokage. She complained that she had to do two, maybe even three, times more paperwork because of him. Fortunately, the Hokage summoned him, providing him with an escape from the fuming ANBU operative. During his meeting with the Hokage, he practically told the old man all the events that occurred between the beginning of the mission until he left Naruto at the household. He only received a nod from the Hokage before being dismissed. Finally, before he went back to the forest, he was able to find Anko and told her about the usage of her house. He told her all the details of the mission.

'_Now where is Naruto?'_ he thought to himself before he spotted the blonde boy against a tree with eyes closed. _'I should have guessed. He wore himself out from all that training.'_

The ANBU operative moved towards the boy before picking him up and bringing him inside the house. He laid the blonde on a bed before placing the covers over him.

_6 am the next morning_

Naruto found himself feeling something soft covering his body in contrast to the hard surface of the tree he fell asleep against. His eyes opened quickly as his body shot up from his current position. He expected to wake up in the forest, but much to his surprise, he found himself within a house. His body got off the soft item below him and headed towards the nearby table. On the wooden furniture was a large package with a piece of parchment attached to it. His hands grabbed the letter and brought it closer to his eyes.

_Dear Naruto,_

_If you're reading this, then that means that you woke up and I'm not there. I just got called back to the HQ because of a large emergency. If you're wondering how you got into the house, I brought you in yesterday when I found you against a tree. You need to be careful when you train next time. You were suffering from severe chakra exhaustion, meaning you wasted a large amount of chakra and leaving your body barely any. This is a problem because it will eventually lead to your death if you're not careful, so please be careful next time. I know that you have a large amount of stamina but you haven't worked your chakra system as much, so take it slow. _

_Because of that, I recommend that you don't exhaust yourself and read some of the scrolls you got. You can use some of your chakra to make a few clones and they will help you train. Read the scroll if you don't understand what I mean. _

_By the way, when we were at the store, I had a feeling you would need these for later. Inside the package is a pair of wooden bokens. Don't do anything stupid and I should be back tonight._

_Yamato_

Naruto placed the letter down and opened the package to reveal the two wooden swords. The blonde grabbed a hold of one before he gave it a experimental swing. His eyes caught sight of the small pile of scrolls at the center of the table. With a sigh, he placed the boken down before heading into the kitchen. His eyes found a plate filled with bacon, eggs, and has potatoes along with a large cup of milk. The food disappeared ten minutes later as a filled blonde boy patted his stomach. With a full stomach, he grabbed the top most scroll on the pile and opened it

_Shadow Clone Jutsu_

_Rank: B_

_Type: Kinjutsu_

_Description: The jutsu allows the user to create solid copies of the user. The clones use the amount of chakra used and divides it with each clone made, allowing each to perform a couple of C-rank jutsus or a handful of B-rank jutsus before having to rely on non-chakra based attacks. These clones will dispel after one hit._

_WARNING: The user must have at least mid chunin reserves before trying to attempt this jutsu or it will result in a severe case of chakra exhaustion that has the possibility of death. _

_CAUTION: This clone jutsu allows for the original to learn the information gathered by the clones once they are dispelled. It is highly recommended to dispel the clones in groups at an interval of several minutes. By dispelling all the clones at once, it will possibly result in brain damage that can range from severe headaches and trauma to 'melting' the brain and death._

'_So that's what Yamato-san meant when he said that my clones would be helpful,' _thought Naruto as he placed the scroll down. _'Better not strain my chakra system that much but I should be able to make a few clones.'_

His fingers made a cross before several clouds of smoke appeared and quickly dissipated to reveal a group of ten Naruto clones. Before the original could say a word, the clones each grabbed a scroll from the stack and headed to a different location of the house. The original, on the other hand, could only watch as the group dispersed without a single verbal command from him.

'_I believe that you wanted them to read the scrolls thoroughly, correct?' _asked Exodus, earning him a mental nod from the blonde boy. _'Well, since you were thinking of their command, it transferred to them and thus resulted in the clones knowing what to do.'_

'_That's so cool,' _thought the blonde boy with excitement.

'_Indeed. They will become even more useful later on when you have a larger chakra system. More clones means more to use for learning new skills that could eventually be helpful on the field. Also, once we have deemed that you have a basic grasp on chakra, we will begin teaching you what we know, starting from the basic.'_

'_Of course, Exodus-sensei.'_

_Time Skip (Several Days later)_

Naruto spent the last few days reading the scrolls on basic knowledge on human anatomy, cooking, and other things. Every day, his would summon his group of clones, unknown that they were growing in number every time, and they would take their respected scrolls to read and reread the information they learned. Yamato would come back to the house every night to find the clones of the blonde working on different things that range from memorizing taijutsu stances to learning basic chakra control. A minor thing that the original noticed about the clones was that each clone held an imperfection but, it wasn't enough to keep the clones from learning from the scrolls they had. It took him a week to make clones with no defections and because of his clones constantly working on chakra control, the amount of clones tended to increase one or two every day. The increase in quantity would constantly confuse the blonde until the third day. During his time reviewing over the readings, he discovered that improvement in chakra control would result in less consumption of chakra for jutsus.

Upon this discovery, Naruto placed more clones on learning and mastering chakra control to further help the progress. Unfortunately, his chakra control only improved a small amount everyday even though he had around half of the clones he summoned working on it because of his rather large and still growing chakra circulatory system. Some clones would work on hunting and trapping some of the wild animals found in the forest while other clones would clean, season, and cook the food. The original spent his time working on making his body physically stronger. It started off with stretches before taking a few laps around the clearing and completing several sets of sit-ups, pushups, mountain climber, and pull-ups. This workout wore the blonde down greatly but it slowly became easier after several days of following this routine. Yamato, on the other hand, would frequently leave before daybreak and return before sunset to find the clones finishing up on their training. The clones would dispel in small groups at intervals of fifteen minutes and once they were all gone, Yamato entered the house. The adult and child spent their time together eating and talking about random subjects and getting better acquainted with each other. This became a routine for the blonde boy.

Several days later, the blonde boy stood in the middle of a clearing near the house as sweat poured down his body. He was barely able to lift his arms but upon close examination of the boy, there was evidence that weights wrapped around his wrists. He walked slowly towards the house, slowly dragging his feet as if he bore the world on his shoulders. Once he entered the household, he flopped down on a nearby chair before he ripped off his training shirt, allowing the world to see his muscles. The amount of training he did accompanied with the healthy food he ate allowed him to lose some of his baby fat. His arms held a considerable amount of muscle for his age because of his training.

With an exhausted sigh, the blonde boy unhooked several items that wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso, allowing them to slam into the floor. He felt a slight headache as some of his clones dispelled and transferred their memories of certain skills to him, skills such as holding and throwing one of his throwing knives, trap making, cooking, and other such things.

_'Naruto.'_

_'Yes, sensei,'_ thought the tired blonde shinobi.

_'The others and I have talked. We believe that you are ready for our training.'_

_'Are you sure, sensei? I mean I still have much to learn.'_

_'You have learned how to access your chakra a few days ago and you are currently focusing it. With your rather large reserves, we should be able to start training you even with your inadequate chakra control.'_

_'Of course sensei.'_

_Time Skip to the End of the Year_

From that day on, Naruto created six new groups for his new subjects. Five were for each one of his sensei's and their respected elements while the last one is for independent subject. Each one of his senseis spent a few months teaching him the basics of elemental manipulation for their respected elements in conjunction with other skills. Bahamut was in the process of teaching him the basics of kenjutsu, Velena started to introduce him to medical jutsus, Exodus instructed him on forging, Ares proceeded to train him in the art of free running and parkour while Odin started to educate him with the usage of the spirit's unique weapon, a double sided sword in the shape of an 'S'. During his teachings with Bahamut, he discovered that his skills with a blade was rudimentary at best until he started to learn from the fire spirit. Exodus and Velena had to start from scratch since the boy knew absolutely nothing about medical jutsus or forging, resulting in them having to start from the basics. Free running and parkour were one of the few things that the blonde was good at with his rather unlimited stamina from running. Ares started to teach him the basic moves like wall-runs and some vaults. During his time with Odin, he quickly learned that he had to throw almost all things he learned from Bahamut into the wind because of the uniqueness of the weapon. Aside from all this training, the boy had increased the weight he carried on his body to further improve his muscular strength.

From all of his training, Naruto looked a little leaner from the lost of almost all of his baby fat and thus allowing his muscles to start to stand out, no matter how small they were. His spiky blonde hair grew wilder and untamed as they now reached his shoulder blades while his bangs occasionally covered his face. Sometimes, he had to tie his hair back in order to control it during training. Currently, he stood at a height of 4'3" in contrast to his old height of 3'11" from the beginning of the year. And because of his growth, he had to go back to Kenshin in order to get more clothes. Fortunately, the old man had a solution in the form of seals. He placed several seals on the clothes, allowing them to grow in size to fit the boy until the boy reached the height of 5'. Once he reached the limit, the blonde would have to come back to the store to get more clothes to suit him.

Returning to his studies, the blonde soon-to-be shinobi chose for his clones to study in the art of sealing. Much to his surprise, he had taken a large interest on the subject and resulted in his growth on the subject to increase dramatically. It specially helped with the good calligraphy that the Hokage helped him with when he was younger. With his interest for the subject growing, he was able to almost finish the basics of the art and could start the intermediate levels. Before Yamato left in the mornings, Naruto would hand him a stack of seals he made. The reason for this was for the older man to go to Kenshin's store and sell them to him. The money that Yamato gained back would be used to pay back the Hokage. It wouldn't be long before his seals started to increase in prices from the demand along with the increase in uses and it eventually led to him fully paying off the Hokage, much to the old man's disapproval of the blonde boy giving him the money. The money made afterwards were placed into a bank account under the name N.N. It wouldn't be long before the blonde would be able to create more advanced seals like suppression seals.

Nothing could be compared to the growth he made with sealing. His chakra control increased from the amount of chakra control exercises he had to do for elemental manipulation but it was still insufficient because of his Jonin level chakra reserves. He was able to improve on his old chakra control techniques like tree walking and leaf levitation but struggles in water walking.

His reflexes and accuracy have improved greatly. It grew through his constant usage of the throwing knives and other projectile based weapons whenever he hunted animals in the forest. He frequently spars with his clones which led to his improvement in reflexes. He also had his clones throw blunted projectiles at him to further improve himself, though it would often result in a few scratches and bruises. He progressed with his projectiles to the point that he would be able to hit an object about 20 feet away. His knowledge of the human anatomy improved to the point he generally knew where each one of the vital organs (liver, lungs, spine, jugular vein, carotid artery, brain, kidneys, and heart) was in the human body.

Before his time with Velena, Naruto rarely thought about the medical field because of his healing capabilities but once Velena showed him the benefits of knowing them, he quickly changed his mind. However, he was disappointed when she mentioned that he needed better chakra control. Overtime, he learned that he didn't have to rely on chakra to help heal someone. Herbs opened a new branch for healing and led to him making a garden where he grew several of them to make his own salves and creams. This eventually led to him to develop his own styles of poison. His interests led him to dive into herbology. With the help of Anko, known as Snake-chan to the blonde boy, he was able to start make some more advance poisons and antidotes, some which were his own creation through experimentation.

Aside from all of his training, the Hokage began to notice about the blonde's specially high skills in infiltration and stealth after remembering several of the boy's pranks. He began to issue special missions to the boy to utilize those skills in order to further improve them and also to further improve the village. These missions generally had Naruto try and enter a compound/building of high strategic value. He would then place traps and evaluate the security of the building before giving the Hokage a report about it. Improvements would then be made to try and seal up the holes in the security and would result in the improvement of the village's overall security.

**Hokage's Eyes Only:**

**Yearly Evaluation of Skills of**

**Naruto Uzumaki**

**Age: 8**

**Sex: Male**

**Birthday: October 10th**

**Blood Type: O**

**Skills:**

_Sealing = Journeyman (He is learning at his own pace on this field. If he is able to meet Jiraiya of the Sannin and learn from him, then his skills in sealing will increase greatly)_

_Stealth = low- to mid-Jonin (He is _a_ble to pull pranks without being seen in broad daylight before he started to train intensively. Improved through infiltration missions assigned by Hokage )_

_Reflexes = Mid Chunin_

_Speed = High Chunin to low Jonin (He was able to outrun any ninja after his pranks with the exception of some people. Slightly increased due to infiltration missions.)_

_Strength = High Chunin_

_Chakra Control = High Genin (it's at this level due to his large chakra reserves and that it continues to increase, resulting in low chakra control when compared to his reserves. _

_Chakra Sensing = N/A_

_Kenjutsu = Apprentice _

_Ninjutsu = Low Chunin (Started learning elemental manipulation from senseis)_

_Genjutsu = Mid Genin (All is able to detect and dispel Genjutsus but lack the control to use them)_

_Taijutsu = High Genin to Low Chunin (It's mostly his usage of strength, speed, and reflex since he only fights like a brawler_

_Chakra Capacity =Around mid Jonin level_

_Intelligence (strategist and tactician) = N/A_

_Medical Jutsu/Antidotes and Salves = High-Genin (Beginning with basics of medical jutsus but knows how to make antidotes and salves with herbs.)_

_Poison Creation/Concocting = high-Genin (Increased in correlation of antidotes and salves through the usage of herbs and snake poisons. ANBU agent Snake assists him in the field of poison because of her usage of snakes.)_

_Weapon forging/repairing = Apprentice (Has begun using the basics. He is able to repair some damages on common projectiles like kunais and shurikens.)_

**Missions:**

_S-ranked - 0 _

_A-ranked - 12 (the ANBU HQ infiltration missions)_

_B-ranked – 5 (Clan compound infiltration missions)_

_C-ranked - 0_

_D-ranked – 36_

_In the Hokage's Office the morning after evaluations_

The blonde boy just waited as he watched the old Hokage read the results from his first evaluation under Yamato.

"Well, this is quite a surprise, Naruto-kun," stated Hiruzen. "Your training has brought forth some progress and the missions I have assigned you have further helped this village. And at this rate, you might become the Hokage and if I'm lucky enough, I will be the one to hand you this hat."

"I won't let you down ji-san!" chirped Naruto, which earned him a smile from the Third.

'_I believe I should give them to him. They said that I should give it to him when I thought he was ready or when he reached Genin level. With what I just read, he easily passed both of those requirements,'_Sarutobi thought as he stood up, leaving a confused blonde boy. _'Please forgive me Naruto...'_

"Jiji? Is there something wrong?" asked a curious blonde with a small frown on his face.

"I think it is time I told you about… your parents," said the elder Sarutobi softly, resulting in making Naruto's eyes widen.

**A/N: R&R. No flames. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4: Year Two of Training

Chapter 4: Year Two of Training and the Blades

**A/N: Something occurred with the last chapter. It was cut off and I just noticed it. I have updated the complete version of it though.**

**Next issue, some people have complained about how my Minato acted and the soul bond during Chapter 1 of the story. First of all, it is my story so I can decide what happens to it. Everyone has their opinion on how the story should be and this is just my interpretation of it. What happened between Kushina and Minato is going to be important later on in the story. End of my rant.**

**I also want to thank people who have been reviewing for the continuation of this story. I will try to update as soon as I can. Thank you.**

**Here is an update on the harem:**

**The Ice Queens of Konoha (Hana Inuzuka, Kurenai Yuhi, Yugao Uzuki, and Anko Mitarashi)**

**Fem Kyuubi**

**Fem Shukaku**

**Samui**

**Yugito**

**Mei Terumi**

**If anyone has some suggestions, send me a review and I will post it for a public poll next chapter.**

**I do not own anything except the bloodlines and the ideas.**

_Previously on Fate of One: The Elements_

_'__I believe I should give them to him. They said that I should give it to him when I thought he was ready or when he reached Genin level. With what I just read, he easily passed both of those requirements,'__Sarutobi thought as he stood up, leaving a confused blonde boy. 'Please forgive me Naruto...'_

_"Jiji? Is there something wrong?" asked a curious blonde with a small frown on his face._

_"I think it is time I told you about… your parents," said the elder Sarutobi softly, resulting in making Naruto's eyes widen._

_Start of Chapter 4_

"W-What do you mean... about my parents?" stuttered Naruto as tears started to from the corners of his eyes. "Y-You knew about them?"

"I'm sorry to say that I did," said the Hokage as he kneeled by the tearful blonde boy. "I'm sorry that I had to lie to you but I believed that keeping this information would result in a safer environment for you."

"Safe?!" he cried out. "I was beaten by people every day of my life! I was thrown out from a possible home for me! What would lying about my parents mean when you consider that Konoha is a 'safe' place for me!? I had to put up with the whispers and rumors about how my mother was a one night stand for a drunkard! I listened as they told me they had hated me and abandoned me!"

"No!" Hiruzen replied with conviction. "Your parents loved you! Those bastards don't know what they're talking about! I knew your parents before you were born and they were so happy, they couldn't wait to be with you… They had so much they wanted to show you as a family and as a shinobi. But unfortunate circumstances arose… The Fourth knew them very well, that's why you were chosen for the sealing…"

"Then why? Why all the lies? Why keep them away from me?"

"Because it was your parents' wishes," replied the Hokage with a stern look. "If I told you what I'm about to tell you, it wouldn't just be the villagers after you but also other villages. Your parents were feared by many shinobi from the other villages and when they know that you are their son, they would take advantage of it and try as hard as they can to kill you. Know this, my boy, while it may have brought you pain that I kept this information from you, know that it would have hurt your parents more to know that you had died at such a young age because of your identity as their son. They told me to tell you whenever I deemed you ready or whenever you reached Genin level and seeing as you met both of those criteria, then you deserve to know."

He stood up from his position and looked all around him before giving a wave of his hand. From the shadows, four beings with a mask covering their faces appeared before bowing towards the old man. With a small nod from the Hokage, the four beings vanished in a furious fury of leaves and left the two alone. The Hokage released a sigh before he placed his hand on a seal etched on his table. With a miniscule surge of chakra, he felt a wave wash over him while his room was covered in a light blue glow.

"If you were about to ask, I just gave us more privacy to talk about this topic," Hiruzen said. "Your parents were some of the best people I knew. But know this, it hurt me more to lie to you than you think."

With that statement, the old man moved towards a portrait of a man Naruto recognized all too well. He had a mop of spiky blonde hair with piercing eyes that somehow held some happiness and joy in them with a little of mirth. It was a painting of the Fourth Hokage, the blonde boy's idol. Hiruzen just pulled the portrait off its place to reveal a medium sized safe with a seal on the middle. Naruto automatically recognized it as a blood seal overlapped with a chakra recognition one as it was briefly mentioned in the books he read. Letting some of his blood flow out of a fresh cut he made, the elder man placed his hand on the seal and pushed some of his chakra into it. Suddenly, a loud, audible clank echoed through the room as the tumbler spun at a rapid pace in a counter clockwise motion before the metal door of the safe pushed itself open. Sarutobi pulled the metal door open some more and reached in to grab a pair of scrolls. He placed both of the scrolls on his desk before shutting the door shut with a loud audible slam, allowing the sound of clanks be heard as the locks reengaged themselves. The Third then placed the portrait of the Fourth Hokage back to its original location of covering the safe. With both of the scrolls in front of him, Naruto could see the contrast in their colors even though they were the same size.

"According your parents' wishes, they wanted you to get these when you met the requirements they set up," explained the Hokage. "These are your family scrolls. Two of these are letters from your parents that they made in case they died and left you alone. I would advise you to read your parents' letters first, preferably your father's, before opening any of the scrolls as it would explain many things that I wouldn't be able to. Each one of these scrolls has an advance blood seal on them, meaning that you and only you would be able to open it and see its contents. Others could force you to open it but they would not be able to see what is on it. It is a rather intricate seal your father made a long time before his death. He was quite fascinated in the subject just as much as you are now."

Naruto couldn't help but smile a little when the Hokage said that about him. His eyes wandered towards the pair of scrolls before it settled on one with a light blue color on it with a kanji for 'father' on it. The blonde bit his thumb, letting the red liquid flow a little bit before smearing it on to the seal. Almost immediately, the end detached from its place and allowed the boy to unroll it. He started reading, unknown to the fact that what he was about to learn would drastically change his life, unknown to the fact that it will change his life.

_Dear Naruto,_

_Foremost, I am sorry I couldn't be there for you and be the father you always wanted. In a perfect world, I would have been there for you, teaching you to be a man, and embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend. _(Naruto smiled sadly as he read this but let a small blush appear at the last part)

_Sarutobi-sama should have tried to protect you along with my sensei, Jiraiya, or my student, Kakashi. By now, you must be wondering who I am, but first, know that I am sorry for the burden I had to place on you. My name is Minato Namikaze. You would have heard my title as "Konoha's Yellow Flash" and the Fourth Hokage, but the one I am the most proud of having is the title of father, your father._

_I would guess you would have mixed feelings about me right now, with the most prominent being anger and confusion. Son, you should know that I tried to make different ways in which would have prevented the Kyuubi from ever reaching the village and causing much more destruction than it already did. However, I had no choice but to use my final option: seal the Bijuu. If there was any other alternative, I would have taken it but, unfortunately, there wasn't.__ Usually the Kyuubi is a fairly peaceful creature that doesn't worry over the human race, but something happened. You are not the first jinchuriki of the Kyuubi but the third. The second was your mother and one night, someone took her away from me. Whoever it was unsealed the Kyuubi from your mother and took it with them, which eventually led to its sudden appearance near Konoha. _

_(Break)_

"The Fourth knew your parents because he was your father…" Sarutobi whispered to him as he held the now crying boy in his arms. "I tried my best to be there for you like he wished but… certain things continued to interrupt me."

"I-I don't know what to do," Naruto croaked softly towards the teary-eyed Hokage. "W-why? Why did he have to seal it into me?"

"He told me that a human host was necessary since the Kyuubi is too powerful. The host must have been born a day to three days before the sealing so that the coils wouldn't be developed yet," Sarutobi explained to the sniffling blonde. "Your parents also told me that you were the only ones they could trust with holding the burden. They knew people would try and abuse the power if given to them."

"T-They trusted me?" asked a sniffling and teary-eyed boy. "T-They loved me?"

"Both of them did with all their heart and soul… I should have a photo of them. I'll go find it while you finish…"

_(Continue)_

_Enough of me though, I should tell you about your mother. Her name was Kushina Senju Uzumaki. She was the heir of the Whirlpool country and her father was the leader of the ninja village as the Uzukage while her uncle was the daimyo. In other words, you are the heir to the Whirlpool Kingdom. She is also carried the Senju name because she was the granddaughter of Mito Uzumaki, the Shodaime Hokage's wife._ (Naruto's jaw dropped at this information and threatened to break through the floor as he continued to read. His eyes became the size of dinner plates.)

_I don't recommend you taking the Namikaze and Senju names until you are stronger. Anyway, more about your mother. She had majestic red hair, which she seemed to hate for some reason until I convinced her it was beautiful. She also had an insane obsession to ramen like me. Especially since ramen is the food of the gods. Plus, she always wore orange with red or vice versa. _(Naruto had to smile and chuckle a bit as he found out that his obsession for ramen came from both his parents while his obsession with orange was from his mother)

_Angering her was a dangerous act for anyone because if you do, you would be lucky to see the light of day. It almost happened to my sensei, Jiraiya. Don't blame yourself for why she is dead since she died from the soul bond we had. Our bond united us to the point where we were more than husband and wife. It made us to the point where one couldn't live without the other. _

_Also, before you go off on that perverted old man Sarutobi about why he was reluctant on giving you this letter, know this. Kumo and Iwa both hate with a burning passion that could have the possibility to last several decade. It could be possible that their hobbies related to hating 'Minato Namikaze'. I've heard that their hatred is to the extent that if someone uttered my name, they would be immediately executed by any shinobi near the area If you took on the 'Namikaze' last name, Iwa and Kumo would be on your ass faster than my Hiraishin. However, being part of family has a positive side also. My clan possessed a bloodline with mythical powers and eventually led to their extermination. But there will be more about that in another scroll._

_I am sorry my son *tear drop stains*…I wish I could be there for you when you grow up and become a ninja of legends. As I write this letter, I can hear the cries of our village against the Kyuubi as it barrels towards our gates. Within this letter are four other scrolls. One contains the bank accounts and slips for the clan accounts and my other identity as Arashi Kazama. The next scroll contains our clan secret which contains information how you will activate your bloodline, what its abilities are, and our special jutsus in which only you can do. The third scroll contains my notes for Rasengan and Hiraishin. These two jutsus helped me decimate an Iwa battalion during the war, which earned me the name Yellow Flash. Finally, the last scroll contains our clan's sword Soul Calibur and the keys to our home on the Hokage Mountain with instructions on how to get there. A fair warning, Soul Calibur is a sentient sword and will judge you to see if you are worthy of wield its might. _

_I am truly sorry my son. Remember your mother and I loved you. We will be watching you from the gates of Kami's kingdom._

_Your Father,_

_Minato Namikaze_

_P.S. Your mother and I will be waiting to hear about your legacy when come and join us at the gates of the afterlife. So make us proud and carry on our mantel to the future._

Tears trickled down from Naruto's face as he finished reading the scroll before he slowly set it back down on the desk.

'_They loved me… I had parents and they loved me. They didn't abandon me like everyone said,' _he thought happily while tears slid down his face.

"Here we go," a voice said from behind him.

Naruto easily recognized the voice and he turned around to spot the Third Hokage pulling something out of a file cabinet near his desk.

"This was the photo I told you about," he said as he handed the boy the item he held in his hands. "It was taken just a few hours after your mother gave birth to you. All your parents told me was that there was some complications. That's her on the bed with your father right beside her. You, on the other hand, are in the bundle of cloth in her hands.

Naruto could only stare at the photo the old man gave to him. He easily spotted the mane of red hair that his mother had and he could help but agree with his father's statement about the hair being beautiful. The woman was laying on the hospital bed while she wore a white hospital gown that Naruto knew too well. Right beside her was a man with spiky blonde hair. He had his arms wrapped around the woman in a sort of possessive manner. His arms were covered with black long sleeves before it was covered with the sleeves of his white trench coat. Something that the blonde boy noticed was that neither of them were facing the camera but rather looking at the bundle of cloth that laid in the arms of the red haired woman. From the bundle of cloth, a pair of stubby arms reached out towards the faces of the man and woman. The blonde boy could see the blonde hair on the babe's head with the blue eyes staring up. His face was clear, no evidence of the whisker marks he held now.

"This was taken the day before the sealing," Sarutobi commented, answering the blonde's unasked question. "That's why you don't have your whisker marks yet."

As if a dam just broke from inside of him, Naruto started to let his tears flow as he finally knew the truth about his parents. Finally, he knew that he was loved by them until their untimely deaths. The Third instantly went towards the crying blonde before he engulfed him in a large embrace while occasionally rubbing his back to try and soothe the turmoil inside of the boy. Something that comforted the old Kage was that the blonde boy held no source of malice against his father for what he had done. Rather, he held a sense of relief, comfort, and pride to know that his parents had loved him. A few minutes later, the blonde boy pulled himself away from the old man and wiped the tears from his eyes using his shirt sleeve. With soft and caring eyes, the Third looked down at Naruto, who just smiled at him.

"I'll make them proud," the blonde stated as looked at the Hokage in front of him. "I'll make them both proud of me. I'll grow stronger and take up both of their mantels. I will become a legend just like they were but I'll make it my own way with my name. So everyone will remember me just like they remember them."

'_You already made your parents proud Naruto. You don't know how much you are like them,' _thought the Hokage as he embraced the child once more. _'I know you will become a legend someday. I know it.'_

"Oji-san, I think it's time to read my mother's scrolls."

"Are you sure? Don't you want to wait?"

"I want to know about her. The Fourth- I mean dad said some things about her but I guess I wouldn't be able to tell it's her until I read her letter to me. She probably had some stuff to tell me before she died with dad..." answered the young Uzumaki, before his words reached him and causing him to start to tear up again.

Hiruzen just nodded before he walked over to his desk and grabbed other scroll. Unlike his father's, this one was red in color with the kanji for 'mother' on it. The Kage handed it to the blonde boy, who proceeds to open it with the usage of his blood. As soon as it opened, he started to read his mother's last words to him.

_My Dear Naru-Chan_

_It's you good ole mom. Your dad probably told you my name, but just in case, my name is Kushina Senju Uzumaki Namikaze. Like your father, I held an alias, or a nickname, during my time as a shinobi. Mine was 'Konoha's Red Death' but I am prouder to bear the title of your mother. I am the last surviving member of Uzushiogakure, the Village Hidden by the Whirling Tides, and the last royal bloodline descendant of the Uzumaki. _

_I am sorry that I'm not there with you to help you grow up to be a man and help your father embarrass you in front of your girlfriend. I wish I could be there for you when you become a shinobi just like your father and I were. I wish I could be there when you're at your peak so I could cheer with pride at your achievements and help comfort you when times are rough but I have to accept that I can't be there for you. That doesn't mean I have to like it though. _

_Well, enough of the depressing stuff and more about me, I am the granddaughter of Mito Uzumaki Senju and the second Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi. I have a bloodline just like your father and chances are that you would get both of our bloodlines. If I remember the talks with your father, he has a body and chakra bloodline called 'Paladin's Light' while mine an eye and chakra bloodline called 'Demon's Night'. In this letter, I have stored our clan scrolls that deal with our bloodline and our special jutsus in which only an Uzumaki can do because of our abnormally large reserves. I have also sealed my sword into here giving me the alias as the 'Red Death'. The sword is 'Force Edge' and is a sentient sword so you will have to prove your worth if you wish to wield it. I wish you a happy life. Make me proud my son._

_Live long and know I will always love you, _

_Kushina Senju Uzumaki Namikaze_

_P.S. Since I died, that means that you are the last Uzumaki. You have the royal bloodline flowing in you and it is now your duty to bring the Land of Whirlpool back to its former strength. That also means brining back Uzushiogakure. I know you can do it and know that I believe in you._

_P.S.S. And if you're addicted to orange and/or red, that would be my fault. Heheh… _

For the second time today, Naruto let's himself cry while he let the scroll fall from his hands. Tears couldn't help but fall from his eyes and for the second time that day, Sarutobi moved towards him before he brought the blonde towards the couch he had in his office. A few minutes later, the Third Hokage found the blonde boy sleeping after the boy literally cried himself to sleep. The old man slowly pulled himself away from the blonde's grip before he retrieved a set of blankets in which he placed over the blonde boy. Afterwards, he created some Shadow Clones before heading to face the plague of his term as a Kage.

_Mindscape_

As soon as the blonde entered his slumber because of his sorrows, he was immediately sent into his mindscape. There, he was quickly met by his senseis, who all wore faces of concern.

_"Naruto-kun? Are you ok?" _Velena asked as she wrapped her arms around the teary eyed blonde.

"I'll be fine," responded the young Uzumaki as he dried his tears with his sleeves, which resulted in Velena to slightly tighten her hold on him. "I'm just glad to know that my parents really did love me..."

_"Kid, I would bet that your parents would be proud of you already," _said Bahamut. _"They didn't know of the hardships that you were going to face. And if anything, they would be proud at you for what you have endured and what you will become."_

"Thanks Bahamut-sensei," said Naruto as a small smile formed on his face. "You too, Velena-sensei..."

_"It was nothing, Naruto,"_ answered Velena as she released her hold over the boy. _"When I was still alive, my mother used to sing me this song when I was down."_

A soft humming flowed around the mindscape like water. Velena started to hum a part of a song before being accompanied by Ares, who started to hum another part that made up the song's harmony. Slowly, Velena made her towards the boy before she wrapped her arms around him. She pulled him with her before she started to sway a little.

_"Dance with me Naruto-kun?" _she said. _"Just for now, forget that I'm your sensei and that your my student. It's just a dance between two friends."_

"B-But I don't know how to dance," exclaimed the boy as his cheeks reddened at the close contact with the female spirit, who just giggled at him.

_"Don't worry about it. Just follow my lead. We'll take it slow."_

Meanwhile, Ares continued to hum the song in Velena's place. Bahamut stood beside her as he started to hum the part as well, much to her surprise. It wasn't long before Velena and Naruto were dancing slowly, making the blonde boy's blush grow even more. Once a steady rhythm had been built, Velena started to sing the words into the ears of the child dancing with her.

Her soft voice drowned out all of his sadness that he held before as he started to understood the words she were singing to him. It dawned to him that feeling sad wouldn't help him. The pair danced around in a small circle as Velena's song echoed into his ears. During the song, Bahamut was able to pull Ares with him before starting to dance with her, must to her surprise. Just as the song nears his end, Naruto found his head resting on the female spirit's shoulder as she sang the final words for the song. As the final notes echoed throughout the chambers, decrescendos into silence. Velena looked down at the blonde boy as a smile graced his face, making her smile as well. Soon, his eyelids started to lower before opening slowly and closing, clearly indicating his lack of energy to continue on. He walked towards a nearby wall before sitting down against it. lumber finally claimed him and the elementals couldn't help but smile as they see a smile grace his face.

_"I'm glad that we were able to help him through that," _said Ares with a sigh. _"It helped him to know that his parents loved him..."_

_"This solidified his path," _grunted Odin as he appeared behind the Bahamut and Ares_."He will grow to become someone who will be remembered with his parent's legacies right beside him. We will have to slowly increase our plans for him."_

_"Why Odin?" _asked Bahamut with narrowed eyes. _"He is still a child. Let him have some of it left before he has to become a killer!"_

_"What childhood Bahamut? Answer me that! This child has had to mature faster in order to survive!"_

_"Enough!" _roared Exodus, who emerged from the shadows, halting the argument that was about ensue between the two elementals. _"I will have to agree with Odin on this Bahamut..."_

_"Exodus, why?" _questioned a shocked fire elemental.

_"He said it himself, what childhood does the boy have left?" _answered the earth elemental. _"He has had to endure and adapt to survive, making him into a man inside a child's body. While, his emotions remain that of a child, he has the will, tenacity, and determination of a grown man. You cannot disprove that, my friend."_

_"Exodus, if we make him stronger than what we originally planned, then he might become corrupted by it. We have seen this happen several times! What then?"_

**"You say you fear him being corrupt from the power you will soon entrust him?" **growled a voice behind them.

The five spirits turned to find large slitted eyes staring at them, which caused them to kneel down.

_"Lord Kyuubi, forgive us for disturbing your slumber over such trivial matters," _said Velena.

_"And to answer your question, my lord. I do fear him being corrupt with power,' _answered Bahamut.

**"You have nothing to fear," **replied the fox demon. **"He will not become corrupt from such power for he is destined for great things. He will have to endure things that no mere mortal can ever dream to comprehend. That is the reason why I have called you here a year ago."**

_"W-What do you mean my lord?" _asked a surprise lightning elemental, which resulted in similar looks from the other four elementals..

**"I have seen a vision," **stated Kyuubi, which earned him shocked looks. **"I have not had visions in many centuries, not since the time of the Rikudo Sennin. I saw destruction at scales even I couldn't have been able to cause. Chaos everywhere as flames rose from the mountains while the waves forced cliffs to crumble to their whim. Yet through all this, I see him, wielding swords not even I know of, fighting against these unknown creatures. He will need this power for the future."**

The description of the vision couldn't help but scare the five spirits. They somehow knew what they had to do.

_"Then it must be done. Are we at a consensus? ," _said Odin as he looked at his fellow spirits before he received nods for all them, including a reluctant Bahamut. _"He continues to grow faster, much faster than we expected but now, we must plan what we can and would be able to teach him."_

_The five elementals looked at each other with a nod before bowing towards the Kyuubi and dispersed into the shadows of the mindscape. This left Kyuubi to its own thoughts._

_**'**_**I feel a change in the wind. Something I have not felt since my creation. Soon, I will be able to tell him the truth. Soon... Naruto-kun.'**

_ The next morning _

Slowly, Naruto found himself waking up from his slumber before he released out a rather large yawn that seemed to echo all around him while he rubbed his eyes. With his vision returning, he finally started to observe his surroundings, only for him to find out that he was in the Hokage's office. After some further examination, he found five copies of the Hokage going through the rather large pile of paper while a sixth one was on his desk. He thought he saw something orange, but just brushed it off as a figment of his imagination before he released another yawn. One of the Hokages, which he assumed was the original, started to move towards him.

"Good morning Naruto-kun. I hope you had a good night and fully rested after what happened yesterday," greeted Hiruzen in a joyful tone. "I told Yamato that you stayed the night here with me. He made sure to check on you last night. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen him that worried in while."

"Yes I did Jiji," replied the young Uzumaki-Namikaze. "Thanks for telling Yamato-san for me. I was pretty sure he would sent an ANBU squad to look for me if neither of us told him about it."

"Knowing him, he probably would have," said the Third with a chuckle.

"So how's the paperwork?"

"Very good now that I know the secret on defeating it. Now I finally know how Minato was able to beat this monstrosity everyday and still able to spend time with Kushina. By the way, how are you holding up?"

"I-I know I should be mad at him, angry even... I know that a part of me is but the other part of me is glad to know that my parents had loved me to the very end... I should blame him for how things ended for me because he sealed the Kyuubi into me but I know he had no choice..."

"If it helps comfort you, he had wished for you to be treated as a hero..."

"Then why wasn't I then?"

"You know human nature, Naruto. I taught that to you when you were younger. They want someone to take the blame, a scapegoat for them to take out their anger and hatred. When I told the council about your status as the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki and the Fourth's wishes for you to be seen as a hero, I had hoped they would trust the seal that they would keep it within them but I was naive. The shinobi side of the council all complied with the wishes of the Fourth while the Elders wanted to turn you into a weapon for our military. However, the civilians in the council wanted you dead and made the analogy that you were a demon. This leaked to the villagers and is the reason why you are treated the way you are now..."

"Then why did you trust them? What did you do to help me?"

"I understand why you would ask me that question," said the Third with sigh. "I know that I must have lost most, if not all the trust you held towards me for keeping the information about your parents from you. As for how I helped you, I had made a special group of my ANBU protect you and I created a law that prevents anyone from mentioning your status to the younger generation with hope that you could have a normal childhood since the punishment for breaking that law was death. However, I now know that it wasn't enough..."

"You know that your ANBU don't get to me on time..."

"I know. They tell me about how people would deliberately slow them down with menial tasks with hopes to stall them from reaching you in time. I would try and help but the same thing would happen to me. The council would call for meetings and I wouldn't be able to get out to aid you, no matter how much I want to. I'm sorry."

"I guess I should say thank you...," said the blonde boy. "I know that you tried your best to protect me, but I don't know if I should trust you again so soon. Maybe... Maybe you can earn my trust back, and eventually, things can be as they once were."

"No, I should be thanking you for giving this old man a chance at redemption," said the Third Hokage as he pulled the boy into a tight hug before letting go a few minutes later. "Speaking of which, when you placed your blood on the letters of your parents, some scrolls unsealed themselves from seals imbedded on the letters. I believe they are your inheritance."

"Thank you again."

Naruto just looked at the scrolls before he started to feel something unusual coming from one of them. It started to draw him to it, as if it was calling for him. His hand slowly raised up before it picked up a dark red scroll, meaning that it originated from his mother's letter. This action caused the Hokage to look at him with confusion and concern because of the blonde's zombie like movements. With a quick poke from a nearby sharp object, Naruto allowed his blood to splash on the seal. Much to his surprise, a loud cloud of white smoke appeared into existence before a loud crash echoed throughout the office, drawing the attention of the Hokage's clones, who were still working on the paperwork. On the floor was a rather large and menacing blade that looked much like a large cleaver. The blade itself was about five feet in length while the handle was a foot long. The hilt was the shape of a wicked looking 'W'. Feeling himself drawn to the blade, Naruto instinctually reached for it and as soon as his hands grabbed it, the blade started to glow a malicious red color that reminded the Hokage of blood. It would be seconds later that the sword started to release an aura of death soon spread to encompass the boy.

"Naruto!" shouted a startled Hokage as he drew a kunai to defend himself just in case.

_**'For centuries I have waited. It has been too long," **_said a voice within his mind. _**'Can you use my power? Can you call on the might of the Berserkers?'**_

Without answering the voice's question, the blonde boy swung the large cleaver before he let it rest on top of his shoulder plate on his right shoulder. Soon, the aura of death started to increase as the young Uzumaki started to glow the same aura as the sword he currently held.

"Naruto!" cried the Third Hokage as quickly moved towards the blonde, only to fail as a large wave of energy slams into him, sending him backwards. The Hokage could only watch hopelessly as the blonde boy's eyes started to change from the soft blue to a menacing dark red.

_**'Your blood calls for it!' **_ crackled the voice with unstrained glee. _**'Summon my power! Claim your right as a Berserker!'**_

The aura soon started to grow before flailing wildly all around, which caused all of the Hokage's shadow clones to dispel in a white cloud. Several objects started to fly all around while the Hokage's personal ANBUs appeared from the shadows and encircled the old man with weapons drawn.

"Whatever you do, don't do anything," ordered the Third. "Cat, what do you think of all of this?"

"I-I honestly don't know, Hokage-sama," replied Cat with a worried tone as she watched the blonde. "I guess all we can do is wait and hope for the best..."

"I guess you're right," said the Hokage with a sigh.

A few seconds later, the aura started to recede back into the young Uzumaki when he suddenly lifts the large sword of his shoulder. In a display of pure speed, he thrusts the cleaver forward before he spun around, which created a circle of death and sliced a floating piece of paper in half. Following through, the boy stopped his movements as he made a vertical slash before doing a one eighty spin into a cleave. Suddenly, the sword started to glow in the same aura from earlier before the blade rocketed out. The handle had extended to a length of six and half feet long while the blade shrunk to a foot in length, turning the blade into a spear. Naruto then started to spin the spear before combining them with a combination of thrusts. He suddenly stopped the spear at a ninety degree angle from the floor before slamming the bottom, which caused the weapon to glow the same red as before. The tip of the spear shifted to its side before it grew in size, which turned the spear into a scythe. The blonde boy just started to twirl the weapon with such expertise that made the observers watch with amazement. After a few minutes, the demonic scythe soon reverted to its original state as a large cleaver. With a few more twirls, Naruto finally stabbed the large blade into the floor of the office as his red eyes reverted back into the blue that everyone knew. Suddenly, the boy stated to fall forward, only for the Hokage to catch him. The ANBU squad also moved forward wearily as they watched their Kage hold the boy close to him.

"H-Hey Jiji," whispered the young boy to the old man holding him. "W-What just happened? I feel so tired right now..."

"I don't know, my boy," answered the Hokage before he looked at the large amount of mess that covered his office. "I was hoping that you would know."

"I-I don't remember anything... A-All I know is that I grabbed the sword. W-What happened?" the boy asked worriedly. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. You didn't do anything wrong, my boy," replied the Kage. "But what happened scared me a little because I feared you were possessed by the Kyuubi. On the other hand, what you just did was amazing to say the least and I'm sure that Cat would agree with me."

"K-Kitty-chan is here?" asked the blonde boy, in which caused said ANBU to wave at the blonde boy happily while her squad mates quietly chuckled about her nickname.

"That was your first time holding that sword, right Naruto-kun?" asked the purple haired ANBU member, in which he responded with a nod. "That was amazing! I hope that you will become a great swordsman and maybe, we can spar against each other!"

"W-What did I do?"

"You did amazing things with that sword over there. It was truly astounding what you pulled off with it," responded the old man.

_**'Your blood called for my power,'**_ a voice said from nowhere. _**'It called for the power of the Berserkers and you have been judged worthy to wield the power.'**_

"Who are you? Where are you?" asked the blonde child.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" asked the confused Hokage. "Is there something wrong?"

"Can't you hear the voice?"

"What voice, Naruto?"

_**'You are my wielder and only you can hear my voice,' **_mentioned the voice. _**'As for where I am, look behind you.'**_

The blonde boy pushed himself away from the old Hokage's grasp and slowly faced the large sword he had stabbed into the floor of the office. It lightly pulsed with a red aura, which also earned confused looks from the ANBU members in the room.

_**'As you can see, I am the sword. I am Force Edge, the legendary blade of the Berserkers and slayer of demons,' **_said the sentient in his mind. _**'First wielded by the first Berserker, Sparta, only those who I find worthy can wield me and as I stated before, you have proven your worth. This means that you are able to wield my power.'**_

"So you're Force Edge?"

"Naruto, what are you talking about?" asked a thoroughly confused Kage.

_**'Think your thoughts, my wielder, and I will hear you.'**_

_'I thought swords couldn't talk...'_

_**'You must have forgotten but your mother must have mentioned that I was a sentient blade. This is the reason I am able to talk to you now and is also the reason I am able to choose who wields me.'**_

_'She did mention that in her letter... Senseis, what do you think about this?'_

As soon as Naruto asked his question, he was quickly responded with silence for several minutes and led to him to panic.

_'Senseis? Are you there?' _asked a worried Naruto. _'Bahamut-sensei? Exodus-sensei? Ares-sensei?'_

_**'Are you talking about these presences within you mind?'**_

_'Yes! Why can't I speak to them?'_

_**'Forgive me, but I didn't know what they were doing within you so I blocked the link you had with them the moment you touched me. Give me a moment and I will be able to restore it.'**_

_'Thank you.'_

_'Naruto? Can you hear us?' asked a very distressed Ares. _

_'Ares-sensei?' _questioned Naruto as he felt relief fill his body.

_'Finally! Me and the others have been trying to get into contact with you for the past half hour. What happened?'_

_'...'_

_'Naruto?'_

_'...'_

_'What's going on? Naruto, can you hear me?'_

_**'So he is here as well,'**_ said Force Edge as he entered the conversation.

_'Who are you?' _asked Ares with suspicion, which drew the attention of the other spirits.

_**'I am Force Edge, the Blade of the Berserkers and Weapon of Chaos. I will explain what I mean later, or rather let him explain.'**_

_'Who is this person you are talking about?'_

_**'Another one like me.'**_

Outside his mindscape, the Hokage and Cat had spent the last half hour trying to gain the attention of the young blonde boy, who was intently staring at the large cleaver stabbed into the floor. Suddenly, he turned around to face them, which brought them some relief but his failure to respond to their questions resulted in the formation of the conclusion that something was wrong. The blonde boy walked towards the Kage's desk in which laid another one of his scrolls. This time it was a blue one, indicating that it had originated from his father's letter. Naruto bit his thumb, which created a cut and allowed the blood to flow. With the fresh blood, the young Uzumaki let it fall on to the seal and led to eruption of a large cloud of white before a loud clank echoed around the room. Once the smoke disperse, it revealed another large blade, which laid against the floor. However, this sword was completely different from the first one. This was colored a light mixture of silver and a very light blue while it held a very unique shape that was more akin to a large crystal. What could be considered to be the blade of the weapon held a similar length to Force Edge and the same thing could be said about the handle. However, there was a glowing blue orb at the junction between the blade and handle. Naruto picked up the large blade, which was quickly noticed by the other occupants of the room. Suddenly, a sky blue aura erupted from the blade much like what had occurred when Naruto had first taken hold of Force Edge. Sensing the aura, Force Edge started to glow as well, resulting in a clash between the red and blue to shine so bright that all occupants of the room had to cover their eyes. The light was so bright that it was able to penetrate the privacy seal the Kage had placed a few minutes before the blonde boy had woken up this morning. It blinded a large amount of people who were within the immediate area for a small period of time until the light died out a few seconds later. One of the people who was affected was Councilwoman Izumi Haruno and she came to the conclusion that the event that had just occurred was all because of the 'demon' trying to kill the Hokage.

_'It must have been the demon brat who made that light. He must have finally shown his true colors and tried to kill the Hokage,' _thought Izumi with glee. _'I'll get the others and we might be able to rid that demon from our village for trying to kill the Hokage.'_

With that thought, she rushed off towards her family's household in order to contact with the other council members of the Civilian Council after fully recovering from the blinding light.

_Mindscape_

Naruto could only blink his eyes, which allowed them to refocus on the field he found standing on. All around him, long strands of grass swayed back and forth as the bristling wind blew against them. He felt the warmth of the sun as it beat down on his skin while the breeze tickled against his face. But, when the boy noticed the two figures coming towards him, he stood up immediately.

_"Hello, young one,"_ said the first figure, _"I have been waiting for you for a long time."_

"I'm sorry," apologized a very confused blonde child. "But I believe that I have never met either of you."

The man who had spoken first took a step forward first. He wore a set of full body armor without the helmet and it was all in the shade of a silver and blue mixture with a yellow sheen trimming the edges of his armor. His shoulder plates and breastplate had images of dragonheads while a dark blue cape flowed from his back. He had blonde hair that reached just bellow his neckline and it blew with the wind along with his bangs. The second being that stood behind the first was less of a man and more of a demonic knight. His armor was practically a demonic and more malicious interpretation of the first man's armor but painted in a blood red with solid black trimmings. He had a helmet covering his face, which hid its features except for the blood red eyes that made Naruto gulp.

"_Child, I am Soul Calibur, Blade of the Paladins and Weapon of Peace,"_ responded Soul Calibur before seeing a surprised look on the blonde's face. _"This is my spiritual representation, which is my first wielder, Siegfried, the first Paladin. Though, I was thoroughly surprised when I felt Berserker blood running through your veins along with the Paladin bloodline."_

_**"I had the same thoughts, Paladin," **_said the demonic knight before he turned to face the young blonde boy. _**"You probably don't recognize me but I am Force Edge, Blade of the Berserkers and Weapon of Chaos. This is my representation, which is Sparta, the first Berserker and nicknamed 'Nightmare'. And to explain this to you, the abilities of a Paladin is the complete polar opposite of the abilities of a Berserker so it was a great surprise to see them both working in harmony in your body."**_

_"I have a feeling that you will be able to wield those powers and many more as time goes on, young one,"_ stated Soul Calibur. _"But that time will not be for a while. For now, we will begin to teach you what we know. We will coordinate this with the other presences in your mind that you call 'senseis' .Go now, wielder, and use us well. We will be there whenever you need us. Now, you must wake yourself as several beings have become worried."_

Unable to say anything or ask any questions, Naruto just looked down to find himself starting to disappear before he looked up. Much to his surprise, neither of the two spirits were there as if they either didn't exist or vanished to nothing in mere seconds. He soon disappeared a few seconds later.

_Real World_

"J-Jiji?" Naruto weakly called out as he tried to steady himself.

"Naruto!" called a worried Hokage. "What happened? I thought I got to you when you released the first sword but it happened again when you unsealed that other sword from the scroll. Cat and I tried to get your attention but you were out of it. What happened?"

At this point the door opened to reveal a pair of ANBU agents. They both saw the blonde boy and Hokage before they rushed towards them.

"Naruto! How are you doing? Are you ok?" asked Cat as she looked at him worriedly. "Did anything happen?"

"Calm down Cat," said the other ANBU agent with a small chuckle. "Let the boy breathe."

"You weren't here earlier Dog," retorted the female ANBU. "He was acting very weird."

"I'm sure that it won't happen again for a very long time," Dog said before he turned to face the blonde child. "Right?"

"I think so," answered Naruto, who started to squirm a little under the male ANBU's gaze. "But Jiji, I-I think that I was able to talk to the both of them."

"Both of them," repeated the Hokage. "Both of who? What? Are you talking about the swords?"

"What are you talking about Hokage-sama?" asked a curious Cat.

"Naruto here thinks that these two swords his parents left him are sentient."

"I don't think Jiji. I know they are. I talked to them."

This statement shocked the two ANBU members. There were barely any swords that were sentient in the world and even then, they were only semi-sentient, which allowed them to choose who held them. Such examples of blades were the weapons of the fabled Seven Swordsmen of the Mist but hearing that Naruto Uzumaki inherited two fully sentient swords from his parents was nothing but shocking.

"i suggest that you hide those swords, Naruto-kun," suggest Cat with a serious tone. "Many people would love to get their hands on a sword such as those in your possession."

"I agree with Cat," said Dog. "You might want to learn how to use them or find a way to hide them cause six foot blades attached to your back is kind of obvious."

"Plus, the council could try and take them away from you."

"But they're my swords-"

"I know that but the Civilian Council and the Elders would do anything to ensure that they gain more power, money, or influence in these lands. Plus, they don't want to make you more powerful. The Uchiha might target you because they would think that you don't deserve to wield such power. I'll store them into a storage scroll that you can carry with you back home. Dog and Cat will escort you as well to make sure that nothing happens. Yamato should be at the house now..."

"Wait... Yamato is with Naruto?" asked a surprised Cat, in which earned her a nod from the Third. "So he pushed all of his work to me because he stayed with Naruto? I'll get him!"

The two males could only back away from the enraged female ANBU member while Naruto could only tilt his as he looked at her with confusion. With a shrug, he walked forward and tugged her pants, earning him her attention.

"Is Kitty-chan mad at Yamato-san?" asked a confused blonde boy, who tilted his head, making Cat forget all about her anger.

"No, nothing will happen to Yamato-san. I promise," she said softly as she squatted down so her eyes stared into the blonde's.

"Ok. Thanks Kitty-chan," said the blonde Uzumaki before let out a yawn that Cat found really cute.

Naruto felt himself enter the land of dreams and allowed his body to be carried by gravity. His head landed on the purple haired ANBU's shoulder while her arms caught him. His arms somehow wrapped around her and wouldn't let go, much to her displeasure. Hiruzen and Dog could only chuckle at scene before them before the female shinobi silenced them with glare. With a sigh, the Third pulled out a scroll before grabbing the large white blade quickly and placed it on top of the parchment before doing it with the large cleaver. Much to his surprise, when he made contact with the white blade, his hand felt coldness while it felt warmth when it touched the large cleaver. He just shook his head at the discovery before channeling his chakra into the seal on the parchment. With a loud pop and the emergence of a large white cloud, the two blades were sealed within the storage seal. The Hokage rolled up the scroll with the seal before he handed it to Dog.

"I want you two to take him to his house. Yamato will meet the both of you at the edge of Training Ground 44 and will lead you the rest of the way," ordered the Hokage. "You both deserve to know what's going on. Now go!"

"Yes Hokage-sama!" replied the duo.

As soon as the pair disappeared with Naruto and the scroll, the Hokage let out a sigh before he released the privacy seal he had on. It would be a few seconds later that man barged into his office.

"Hokage-sama, the council has called a meeting about half an hour ago. They stated it was urgent business," he said before he turned and left.

"Damn council," muttered Hiruzen with irritation before he created five shadow clones to deal with his work while he went to the meeting.

_Council Room_

Inside the council room, the civilian council members were currently talking about different ways to kill the 'demon brat' for 'attempting to kill the Hokage' as soon as they proved their accusation with half truths and half lies. The elders could only wait with hopes to finally get the weapon they wanted while the shinobi council members and clan council members could only sigh at discontent. These four groups made up the Council of Konoha. First was the Civilian council, who represented the civilians who lived in the village. They consisted of men and women who became local celebrities through the large amounts of money that they have gained over time. This side of the council contained thirteen different members with all of them hating the blonde boy. The next section of the council consisted of the three elders. These elders are Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura. Koharu and Homura were Hiruzen's former teammates under the Second Hokage while Danzo was the head of the ROOT program during the Second Great Ninja War. They felt that Naruto should be given to Danzo to turned into a weapon for Konoha. The third section consisted of the several commanders of the entire ninja forces. This included the Chunin Commander, Jonin Commander, ANBU Commander, and the War Cabinet. Finally, the last section consisted of the Ninja clans, which included the Uchiha, Sarutobi, Senju, Hyuuga, Nara, and Yakama clans. The head of the clans represented the whole clan in the meetings and most of them supported Naruto, with the exception of the Uchiha head. It would be minutes later that the double doors of the council room were opened to expose the Third Hokage, which silenced all conversations.

"Now, will someone please tell me why this meeting was called and why I was practically ordered to come here?" asked the elder Sarutobi with irritation in his voice.

"Hokage-sama! We motion for the demon to be banished or executed!" shouted one of the civilian council members, a fat male. "We know that he attacked you! The lights that came from your office is clear evidence of that!"

From the shadows, an ANBU member appeared with his katana drawn out from its sheathe.

"You have broken the Hokage's Law," he stated. "By doing so, you have forfeited your life."

With that said, the shinobi sliced the man's throat, causing the civilian councilman to grab his throat in order to try and close the cut so that it limited the blood coming out. However, he didn't know that the shinobi had cut his jugular vein wide open and in a matter of seconds, the man was dead with his blood pooling underneath his body. The ANBU member just looked at the slight before he placed his blade back on its scabbard on his back. Meanwhile, the Civilian Council could only look with horror etched on their faces from the large quantity of blood.

"Anyone else want to break my law?" Sarutobi asked with anger.

"Surely it wasn't necessary to kill Daiki, Hiruzen-"Homura stated, only to stop as he felt the Killing Intent rolling off of his former teammate in waves.

"He broke my law and he knew the consequences of doing so. So what is it about Naruto attacking me?"

"He attacked you! We all saw that light from your office!" claimed one of the other civilian members who was able to muster enough courage to do so.

"Now how would you know that? You stated that you all saw the light come from my office but were any of you there with me and saw what was happening first hand?" asked the Hokage with a bit of faked curiosity before he saw the civilian council members start to sweat a little. "See? No one here can attest of being there with me in my office and had a firsthand experience of what was occurring. As I recall, there were only six people with me during that time and none of them are in this room. In addition, your accusation of Naruto attacking is me is just pure horse crap! How would you know if he was in the room with me if none of you were with me? It seems that this argument is all based on assumptions that no one seems to have proof on."

"Your secretary said that _he _went into your room but never came out!" shouted another civilian council member. "So that means that he never left the room!"

"So he used one method of entrance to get in but I had my ANBU take him home because he was tired," said the Third, knowing it has a half-truth because of the time difference between the events.

At this point, the Civilian Council knew that they had no leg to stand on and started to seethe in anger at thought of losing another chance to get rid of the 'demon brat' that roamed 'their' village. The Shinobi Council and Clan Council members could only sigh at disappointment because of the time that was wasted for a pointless meeting. Before any of the members of the Council could leave, the THird stood up.

"Also, let it be known that only the Hokage can call the council and the last time I checked, I am the Hokage, not any of you. If you have a problem with that, then take it up with me! Otherwise, this meeting is over!"

_Mindscape_

The blonde child stirred as he felt something tickling his back while something else rolled over his skin. Slowly opening his eyes, he heard something soft and melodic floating all throughout the air of the chambers before he tried to sit up. A few seconds later, his vision cleared to reveal the watery emerald green eyes staring into his.

_"Naruto? Can you hear me?" _asked a soft voice he knew very well. _"Are you ok?"_

"I'm fine..." Naruto responded as his eyes soon returned to their normal clarity to reveal the long blonde hair. "Is that you Ares-sensei?"

_"Yes, it's me. We were so worried about you," _said the female spirit as she engulfed him in a massive hug while the tears brimmed her eyes, threatening to spill. _'We thought that something bad had happened when the connection between us broke again. We couldn't get anything through the link..."_

"I-I'm going to b-be fine, s-sensei," stated the blonde boy as he struggled to breathe because of the female's insanely strong grip.

"_Ares, you might want to let go of him now," _Bahamut said with mirth. _"Though, I never have seen anyone turn that shade of blue before. Is that natural?"_

"_I don't believe so, my friend," _rumbled Exodus as he watched at the scene with amusement.

"_Oh no! Naruto!" _Ares shouted as she pulled the blonde away from her grasp after she spotted his unnaturally blue skin and swirling eyes. _"Are you going to be ok?"_

"Sweet air!" the blonde cried out as he panted harshly, which resulted in Ares to blush from embarrassment. "I'll be... fine in... a few... sensei..."

"_**As amusing as that was, I believe it is time that we now have our talk,"**_ a demonic voice said from the shadows, which caused the other elemental spirits to appear as the shadows took form of a demonic knight.

"_I couldn't agree anymore,"_ stated a calm, yet cold voice as the light that entered the chambers seemed to refract to form large ice crystals in the silhouette of a silver swordsman in large armor.

"_**I can assume that you are the beings I sensed earlier," **_the demonic knight said as he spotted the five spirits that surrounded the blonde boy. _**"Let me introduce myself. I am commonly known as Force Edge, Blade of the Berserkers."**_

"_And I am Soul Calibur, Blade of the Paladins,"_ said the silver swordsman from the crystal.

"_I have heard of you before…" _Odin mentioned as his eyes narrowed. _"I can't seem to remember the history of the Berserkers or the Paladins but, I do recall the names of the blades that they wielded. Your names were the most popular amongst stories concerning them…" _

"_Unfortunately, we cannot speak about our origins until he is ready,"_ Soul Calibur explained as he looked at Naruto. _"And when he does learn about it, he will truly know who he is."_

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked with confusion. "I know who I am. I am me."

"_**Of course," **_Force Edge said. _**"But enough of this, you will learn later. Now, we must talk about your training-"**_

"_Training?" _Velena asked with fear. _"The five of us agreed that we would teach him gradually overtime-"_

"_**There isn't enough time for that!" **_

"_What do you mean?" _asked Exodus with a cautious tone.

At this point, Soul Calibur couldn't help but let out a sigh as he looked at the demon knight with a glare for releasing vital information.

_"We were told that someday, we both will train one who will need it to defeat an ancient evil older as old as the lands,"_ said the silver knight, which made the five elementals look at each other with shock. _"We didn't know who it would be or when it would be, but we were both assured that we would both know when the time would come, though I didn't think it would be as obvious as this."_

_"It seems that the vision was not false..." _said Odin, which drew the attention of the two knights and the blonde boy. _"Lord Kyuubi told us that we were called because he had a vision something about something bringing chaos to the lands. We were planning on accelerating the boy's training to the point where we would adapt our schedule. What you just told us confirmed the vision and I'm not sure Naruto would be able handle it."_

This brought forth silence throughout the chambers, before the blonde tugged on Velena's kimono.

"Senseis?" he said, drawing the attention to him. "You told me that I should follow my heart and what I believe."

_"Of course," _ answered a confused Bahamut, who had no idea where the blonde was going with this.

"Well, it's telling me that I should this. If it helps me protect those I care about, then let me do it."

"_Are you sure about this? Once we start, there is no turning back."_

"I'm sure."

"_**Very well, we will begin tomorrow."**_

_Later that Day_

Naruto found himself waking up from his slumber. He felt something soft underneath him, which he somehow knew was a bed from the countless times he had been on one. He allowed his vision to return before he slowly sat up, only to feel a pair of hands on his shoulder.

"Careful," a melodic voice said from in front of him. "We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself now, would we?"

The young Uzumaki's blue eyes stared in front of him as his vision cleared up to spot a person with a familiar mask, long purple hair, and grey armor. His eyes widened for a split second as he let a large grin appear on his face before he pulled the person into a hug.

"Kitty-chan! You're here!" the boy exclaimed as he held her close, oblivious to the chuckles in the background.

"So you remember 'Kitty-chan' but not ole' me?" asked another voice, who was trying to contain his chuckles with hopes to avoid the female's wrath.

"Doggy-san! Both of you are here!" the boy cheered as he unwrapped himself from the female before launching himself towards the silver haired man and engulfed him in a hug.

"So how are you doing?" Dog asked. "We were worried when you were knocked out."

"I'm fine," Naruto replied. "I have to go now."

"Why is that?" the female ANBU asked as her eyes narrowed.

"W-Well, Jiji told me I can start to train now," Naruto answered nervously. "Yamato-san has been helping me here and there with the basics along with Snake-chan for the last year and I've been doing missions for Jiji. And since, I haven't trained for a few days, I'm going to go start back up again..."

"No! You are not training right now! Honestly, you just woke up!"

"B-But-"

"No buts!"

"I would agree with her, Naruto," Dog said with a chuckle. "She is like that at the Headquarters as well. It's no use arguing with her. Rest for a few days and then start training after you get her seal of approval."

"Are you implying something, Dog?" Cat asked with venom in her voice.

"N-No! O-Of course not!"

"You better not!" she growled before she turned to speak the cowering boy using a loving and caring tone. "Don't worry Naru-chan, Kitty-chan won't hurt you. She's just worried about you. I'll visit you everyday to make sure you're ok since Yamato-san showed us how to get here."

"I-If you say so Kitty-chan… I'll rest for a few more days so you won't be worried about me."

"Thank you Naruto. Yamato said he would be back in a few minutes. He had to run an errand," she said softly as she watched the boy wrap himself in his blankets before turning to her colleague. "Let's go."

With a nod, both ANBU members exit the room and relocated themselves in the kitchen of the house. When Yamato showed them this house, they couldn't help but be shocked that such a place was located within the forest without being ravaged by the local animals. Yamato quickly took advantage of the shock and immediately left the pair in order to do an errand with hopes to escape Cat's wrath. Now, the duo could only look at each other expectantly.

"So…"

"Not one word, Dog," Cat growled out as she slammed her fist on to his head. "Not one word or so help Kami…"

"Ok…" he replied weakly as he nursed his new bruise.

_Few Days Later_

For the past few days, the two ANBU members would always come back to check on Naruto until the blonde boy was finally able to convince Cat to allow him train. However, Cat insisted that she be there with him for his first training session. They watched as the child bounced around with excitement of finally being able to train. With great speed, he hurried outside with the two older shinobi following right behind him. Naruto had his scrolls in hand and stopped several meters away from the house. Naruto unrolled the scroll the Hokage had given Dog several days ago and with a deep breath, he channeled chakra to his hands. HE slammed them down on the parchment, which earned him a large pillow of white smoke that quickly dissipated to reveal the two large swords. The two weapons started to glow in their respective colors of red and blue as Naruto grabbed both of them.

'_**So, are you ready?' **_Force Edge asked.

'_Ready as I'll ever be,'_ Naruto responded through the mental link.

_'Since we accepted you as our wielders, it will allow you to access the chakra network of your bloodlines,'_ Soul Calibur explained. _"To do this, Force Edge and I will have to gain control of your body for a brief period of time .It may take your body several hours to a day before you are able to access them.'_

'_**I already opened his Chaos chakra.'**_

'_When?'_

'_**The moment the kid touched me in the office, his blood activated and started to form the coils without the need of my assistance. As of right now, his Chaos Chakra is about the same size as his current one.'**_

'_Would mind answering what the point of having these two types of chakra? I mean my parents mentioned about the new chakra networks, but I don't understand how they would be useful.'_

'_Well, Holy Chakra and Chaos Chakra is the energy used by the Paladins and the Berserkers, allowing them the ability to access a special skill set. These special skills include a special arsenal of jutsus. However, our chakra can also used for normal jutsus used by shinobi but it will bring forth mixed results because of how dense it is.'_

'_What do you mean by that?'_ asked the thoroughly confused boy, only able to understand a portion of the explanation.

'_**Let's say you can make ten clones when you use your normal chakra. If you use the same amount of Chaos or Holy Chakra, it would make more clones. So, instead of ten clones, it would make around twenty five to thirty with a lowly dense chakra or as high as forty if it was really dense. Do you understand now?'**_

'_I guess so…'_

_'Since Force Edge has already created your coils for Chaos Chakra, I might as well make yours for Holy Chakra. I recommend that you empty both of your coils by making clones since it would help the process go by faster.'_

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu**" Naruto cried out suddenly, surprising his observers from his actions. Multiple clouds appeared as soon as he called out the jutsu. The clouds dispersed as quick as they were made to reveal a small battalion of clones with identical grins. Naruto panted a little as he felt that his reserves were out before he made the cross sign again and called out the jutsu once more. A billow of clouds appear again before they dispersed to reveal around twice as many as the first group. However, they held a more feral and malicious look on their faces.

"Alright you lot!" shouted Naruto as soon as he regained his breath. "I want you to split into your normal groups. Chakra control, basic elemental groups, accuracy, cooking, hunting, seals, all that jazz! Remember that specific groups will have a sensei with them to train them. Team captains, take your group and disperse!"

As soon as the word 'disperse' exited the original's mouth, all of the clones vanished in a random direction, rushing through the dense thickets and shrubs of the forest. The original, on the other hand, stabbed both blades into the ground before he leaned against a nearby tree. The ANBU members watching him could only at shock from the large quantity of clones the boy had produced.

"How long have been able to make that many clones?" asked a surprised Cat, which earned her a shrug from Naruto.

"At first, I was able to make around ten but the constant training for a year eventually increased my control and capacity to the point where I can make around three hundred when I use everything I have. I was able to create another set of clones because I have another set of coils."

"Really?" asked a bewildered Dog.

"Yeah! It's thanks to my two swords! Speaking of which, I need to do something."

With that said, Naruto grabbed the large crystal like blade and pulled it out from the ground. He twirled it once before placing it on top of his metal shoulder plate. It started to glow a light blue aura that started to spread instantaneously until it completely covered the young Uzumaki. Suddenly, a pulse erupted from his body that quickly dispersed before it hit anybody or anything. The blonde's blue eyes turned to frosty white as he lifted the sword off his shoulder and proceeded to swing it in circles with expertise. Suddenly, he finished it by stabbing the blade into the ground in front of him, which sent a wave of frost blue energy a meter forward before a wall of ice ten meters high and seven meters wide erupted from the ground. The glowing Naruto pulled the sword from its place before making a horizontal slash that sliced the wall cleanly into two different pieces. With that, the boy released his hold on the sword, which allowed it to clatter to the earth, resulting in the ice to disperse.

_'It is done,'_ Soul Calibur said. _'You'll feel tired for a while so I would suggest that you rest for awhile. Your body actually started to form the coils when you held me in the office but it was still underdeveloped because the Chaos chakra coil was already developed. I just helped push it to the point that all three of your coils are about equal in amount. Still, it will be awhile before you can do anything.'_

Naruto could only mentally nod as he sat down on the ground with his back against the large crystal blade. Cat and Dog took this time to walk towards the exhausted boy.

"Did you see that Dog?" asked Cat, in which she received a nod. "Just how many secrets do you have, Naruto-kun?"

"Now, now Cat. Let Naruto have his secrets," Dog said to the female ANBU, before took the opportunity to tease his teammate for her slip up. "So Naruto-kun huh?"

"U-Uhhh... Shut up!" she screeched before using her fist to punch him upside the head. "You better keep this to yourself otherwise you might have an _unfortunate _accident!"

However, Naruto took this time to look at the older shinobi to find that one had a rather large lump on his head while the other seemed to have steam coming off of her head. Cat automatically noticed the boy and walked towards him with all feelings of anger gone.

"Hey Naruto," she said. "I've got a question for you."

"What is it Kitty-chan?"

"You're going to become really strong and powerful but what will you use this power for?"

"I'm going to become a strong ninja to protect my precious people and then take the hat from the Old Man!" the blonde chirped. "He said only when I have people I want to protect will I truly be strong."

As soon as he said those words, both Cat and Dog let small smiles grace their faces behind their masks. They looked at each other before nodding. They started to remove their masks, which let the boy see the faces behind them. The female ANBU member removed the mask first to reveal a beautiful face with her long purple hair. Dog removed his mask next to show his scarred face while a facemask covered his mouth and nose. He also has a bandana covering his right eye, where the scar is located.

"Why don't we introduce ourselves then? My name is Kakashi Hatake and I'm an ANBU Captain," Kakashi said as he lowered himself so he could look at the boy straight in the eyes.

"And I'm Yugao Uzuki. I'm also an ANBU Captain though Kakashi has been in the position longer than me," Yugao said as she gave the boy a warm smile.

"I've heard of your name before," Naruto stated as he looked at the man with gravity defying hair. "I can't remember where I have though…"

"Hokage-sama told us to watch over you but I believe it would a good idea for us to stay here and watch you like Yamato does," suggested Kakashi with an eye smile. "That means that you will have three shinobi here to help you whenever you need it. Plus, we can make sure that you don't hurt yourself while doing so."

"Are you sure this is a smart idea, Kakashi?" Yugao asked her teammate. "That would mean that three out of the six ANBU captains will be here instead of working on the field. That would also mean that we would have to make up a lot of work."

"Don't worry about it," replied Kakashi as he waved her off. "If what I have in mind comes true, then we might have a good reason for doing so."

"You'll have to tell what you plan on doing later but I guess I'll help you train him," she said before turning to the blonde boy. "So how were you able to do those things with your swords?"

"Yugao, let him have his secrets for know," Kakashi said to the female, who just pouted. "As long as Hokage-sama knows about it, it's fine. He will tell you when he is ready to. Anyway, how is your training right now, Naruto?"

"Well, I can do some of the Chakra Control exercises like Leaf Balancing and Tree Walking, but I can barely do Water Walking," Naruto began. "I've recently begun poison making, healing, and weapon forging with the help of my senseis of the subjects. For Taijutsu, I'm learning five different styles from my senseis and I'm about to begin the Intermediate level for two of the styles while I'm at the Beginner for the other three. For Kenjutsu, two of my senseis are going to start teaching me as soon as I am ready. I suck at Genjutsu but I can dispel a few of the medium-leveled ones but I can't break the strong ones. My clones are working with Ninjutsu so I've learned quite a bit of the C and D rank Jutsus. Then, I have a few other independent projects. Finally, I'm around the Intermediate level for Sealing and I've been giving my spare seals to Yamato-san to sell at stores."

"So it would be safe to assume that you are stronger than an Academy Student," Yugao stated. "He's probably mid-Chunin with his skills as of right now."

"What about his speed, stamina, and stealth?" Kakashi asked her. "He could outrun any of us for a while. In addition, nobody could see him when he's setting those pranks of his even though he wore that bright orange jumpsuit. I would probably make him high-Chunin, if not low-Jonin with those in mind."

"Oh!" Naruto interjected. "I forgot to mention that Jiji is having me enter buildings as missions! He said I should put down pranks and then get out before anyone notices me!"

"What type of buildings?" Kakashi asked warily.

"The buildings looked like they were connected and there were always a lot of people who dressed the same…"

"Clan Houses? You've been infiltrating Clan Houses?!"

"I've also been into the building where there are a lot of people wearing the same type of masks you wear!"

At this point, the two could only gape as they let the words the boy just told them play in their heads over and over. He had just stated that he was able to infiltrate the ANBU HQ, place pranks in there, and get out without anyone noticing. From what they remembered, ANBU couldn't operate certain days because a large quantity of pranks that had occurred. And now, they find out that the cause for all of it was standing in front of them all because the Hokage had ordered him to do so.

"I-I agree with you, Kakashi. Definitely low-Jonin level if he was able to infiltrate that building…"

"Well, how about we go see how my clones are doing?" Naruto asked the two, who only responded with a nod before he turned to face his two swords.

_'How am I suppose to carry both of you?'_

_**'Don't worry about. Leave it to me,'**_ replied Force Edge. _**'All you have to do is put us on your back with me first and then Soul Calibur.'**_

With that, Naruto grabbed the large red cleaver and pulled it out from the ground before placing it on his back in a slanted position. He let go of the sword the minute he felt something and much to his surprise, the blade stuck to his back. Naruto got over his initial surprise and placed the large crystal blade in a slanted position that made the two blade intersect at one point. Once he let go, the blade stayed at its position. With a smile, he looked back at Kakashi and Yugao, who were looking at him with a mild hint of curiosity. The trio then started to walk into the forest in silence and without interruptions from anything other than the local animals. The minutes flew by until they heard a small explosion a few meters ahead. They followed the sounds of explosions and as soon as they got close enough, they could also hear the sounds of metal striking against metal or being jammed into wood. A minute later and the trio burst through the thicket, only for them to see the small army of blonde clones training in multiple branches if the shinobi arts. One of the clones quickly noticed them and moved to greet them.

"Hey boss," he said with a wave.

"How are things going so far?" asked the original.

"Well, the elemental groups have started to learn new jutsus. Nothing above a High C rank or a Low B rank though but some of the D rank jutsus have almost been mastered," the clone explained. "For the Taijutsu team, they have been working with the some members of the Elemental group to work on the Taijutsu styles."

"What are these styles called?" Kakashi asked with curiosity.

"It's a Taijutsu style that differs with each one of the five elements. By having mastery over an element means you can learn one of the stage, while mastery over two elements mean it is possible to learn two of the stages," the clone answered. "Like I mentioned, it is divided into five stages. The fire element stage of the katas is called Coiling Dragon. . In this set, the user uses fire manipulation to launch flames at the opponent, while mixing in aggressive punches and kicks. The next one is Hydra's Strike, which uses Water Manipulation. This is style is a balance of offense and defense as it requires quick strikes, flexibility, and precise control over water to be able to launch hits, defend, and sometimes redirect the opponents attacks. Golem's Wall is the Earth Taijutsu style. It is a defensive style of taijutsu, requiring the user to be sturdy in form and be able to either block or withstand all kinds of attacks so that powerful attacks or counters could be made. Wolf's Attack is the Lightning stage and it is even more aggressive than the Fire stage as it allows the user to hurl lightning bolts for medium ranged assaults and allows the user focus lightning to certain parts of the body to enhance assaults to the opponent. Finally, the Air Taijutsu stage is Falcon's Flight. It mostly focuses on redirecting the opponent's attacks back to them and using their strengths against them."

"Wow… I didn't know that," the original stated, which caused the two veteran ninja to sweat drop as they look at him.

Of course you didn't boss! Sensei just told us after we left you," the clone explained with a chuckle. "Apparently, the five of them created this style where it is possible to use two, maybe even three of the stages at once, thus giving it the name Elemental Storm. That's all these groups have been working on. Some have started on the Intermediate set, but you already know that. All that is new the information I just told you and the progress made."

"What are the other groups working on?" Naruto asked the clone. "There's around thirty in each group in here, making the grand total around a hundred and eighty but what about the others?"

"Well, the others are doing different things," answered the clone. "I could dispel and you could get the memories of what all the other clones are doing since I've walking around to make sure things are alright, but I have more training to do."

"I could just make another clone to take your spot in the training."

"True, but where would the fun is in that?"

"…"

Naruto could only shake his head before he motioned that the clone could continue his training. The blonde boy walked to the center of the large clearing, which allowed him a clear view of everything that was occurring. He spotted one of the groups he wanted to talk to and walked towards them.

"Sealing group?" he asked the leader, only to receive a nod from what he could tell was the group's leader. "I want all of you to dispel."

The thirty clones just looked at each other before they shrugged and dispelled in a large cloud of white smoke. Suddenly, Naruto grabbed his head as he felt pain coming from his brain before spotting the black spots in his vision. His hand shot out and grabbed the nearest thing, which was a tree, to help stabilize himself. Yugao and Kakashi saw this almost immediately and rushed over to him.

"What happened?" Yugao asked with concern laced in her voice.

"Dispelled one of my groups all at once," responded the blonde boy with a grunt. "Hurts my head."

"It's just the mental backlash from dispelling that many clones at once," Kakashi informed him. "Let me guess, it wasn't as bad before?"

"Yeah... Probably because I've got more clones than usual in each group..."

"Give it a few minutes. It'll be gone after a while since you only dispelled a group of thirty. It won't take your brain long to sort out all of the information. A warning though, don't dispel a large amount of clones at once or you will either end up in a coma or dead. I believe that it was mentioned in the scroll for the jutsu."

With a nod, Naruto just stood still as he allowed his brain to sort out the information while Yugao just looked at him intently. A few minutes later, he found the pain dispersing quickly before looking up to the female shinobi. He gave her a reassuring smile, only to get a slap upside the head.

"What was that for?" he asked as he rubbed his head.

"That was for making me worried," she said, which drew a raised eyebrow from the silver haired shinobi beside her."And for forgetting about vital information!"

As she continued to scold him like a mother scolding her child, Kakashi couldn't help but sigh before he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"As much as I would love to continue berating the boy, I think that we need to see what we can teach him," said Kakashi before he turned towards the blonde boy. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine now. Let's start training then."

_Time Skip (10 Months of Training)_

Ten months of extensive and strenuous training brought drastic improvement to the blonde boy. He quickly progressed in the Ninjutsu field with the help from his senseis to the point where he had an astounding repertoire of elemental jutsus that range from D rank all the way to high B rank with a handful of low A ranks. However, even with the massive arsenal of jutsus, he still required to handseals for almost all jutsus above a high C rank and he had to say the name if the jutsu was above a mid B rank. However, he also learned a variety of non-elemental jutsus, like **Shadow Shuriken Jutsu**, in order to have some diversity.

In Taijutsu, the blonde boy had progressed to point where he was on the Intermediate Levels for all five of the Stages, which was thanks to his training under Yugao and Kakashi. They watched him exercise and took it upon themselves to help him further increase his base strength, speed, and stamina through a series of workouts that increasingly got harder every two months. It also helped that they put more weights on his torso, arms, and ankles because of his growth, though not enough to impede it in any way. Every few weeks, Kakashi would spar with the young Uzumaki while Yugao would watch. After the spar, she would be able to relay any useful things she spotted to the boy like openings and problems in his stances. She also did this when the boy started to spar with multiple groups of his clones in order to experience fighting multiple opponents. At this point, his Taijutsu started to align itself with his elemental manipulation to be able to call forth the elements, making the styles more deadly.

His accuracy and reflexes improved greatly through the constant spars with Kakashi and the clones. Sometimes, he would get some of his clones to throw blunted weapons at him, much to Yugao's disapproval, The original would spend time with his clones practicing with his throwing knives with hopes to master the unique weapon.

His chakra levels pretty much sky rocketed with the addition of the two new coils to the point that they were around high Jonin level each. However, this meant that he had to dedicate more of his clones to chakra control because the large increase resulted in the decrease of control. He had to relearn how to do all of his chakra exercises but it didn't take as long as it did the first time he did it. Because of his growing chakra reserves, Yugao decided to teach him some of the more complex chakra control exercises like senbon balancing. He also had to learn how to run on water, which was almost the same as walking but harder because of the speed he was going at.

Kenjutsu was utter torture for the young Uzumaki as Bahamut, Force Edge, and Soul Calibur had him going through stances and katas using the wooden bokens he received from Yamato. His skill was around the low to mid Chunin in his opinion but the three stated that he was around high Genin. Ten months of constant practice eventually made his three teachers say that his skills were around mid Chunin. They were convinced by the fact that the blonde boy created his own style that allowed him to fight with one of his swords or dual wield both of them. However, this was made using bokens and once he tried to use both of the large blades, he was barely able to make it through the third dance. It took eight out of the ten months to give the blonde enough strength to be able to use both blades at once. It also helped him that Yugao was an expert in Kenjutsu and she sparred with him frequently, which gave him experience and advice on what should be done so he could improve his style. Something that encouraged the boy was that both Soul Calibur and Force Edge had their own arsenal of jutsus that were special to them. His clones started to learn some of the C rank jutsus that pertained to the blade as soon as he was able to go through all the dances of his style with both of his blades.

Miscellaneous subjects were starting to improve at different rates. For example, sealing was starting to slow down as he actually needed a seal master to be able to improve and that meant he was stuck at a high Journeyman level. In medicine, he knew how to make cures and antidotes quickly using different herbs but he lacked the control be able to use the jutsus for the field. He also learned more about the human body. His improvement with medicine correlated with his advancements in poisons. The field greatly improved with the help of Snake/Anko. The blonde boy had some of his clones experimenting and creating new poisons that used a mixture of different substances like snake venom and herbs. Meanwhile, his progress with Odin's blade was anything but fast. Everything Naruto learned with it was firsthand experience and it didn't help that the blade was completely different, which meant that it came with a style of its own and that anything his Kenjutsu teachers taught him would not apply. However, something that helped the blonde greatly was the fact that the handle in between the blades was long enough that he could use the basic stances of Bojutsu. He had to modify it to suit his needs but it was a start. He persisted through with learning how to use it though he doubted a time he would have to use the weapon.

During his free time, he started to read some of the scrolls that came out from his parents' letters and two of which regarded his bloodline.

_Flashback_

Naruto found himself waking from a rather long nap after a straining work out. He examined his surroundings to find them completely devastated and void of any source of life. With a yawn, he stretched his arms out before he looked beside him. Two scrolls laid beside him and with a shrug, he opened the first one with hopes to discover more about his parents.

_Dear Naruto_

_This is the scroll which contains all information on our bloodline and any family techniques we had. It ranges from Ninjutsu to Kenjutsu-Ninjutsu hybrid jutsus. You see, our clan was famous for our skills with weapons. I was fluent with a two handed sword named Soul Calibur. I rarely used the blade but it was powerful when I used it. Our bloodline is called 'Paladin's Light'. This bloodline is special because of the fact that the Namikaze clan was a descendant of Kami's Royal Guard called the Paladins. Our bloodline allows us to use a special chakra called Holy chakra. This powers special jutsus like our family's famous Light Release, Judgment Release, and Holy Release jutsus. The best thing is that no bloodline can copy any of these because the user needs to contain a large amount of Holy chakra in order to use the techniques. And if you're wondering, you should have awakened your Holy chakra the moment you touched Soul Calibur._

_Our bloodline has three levels. The first allows you to call upon the full power of Soul Calibur. It also allows you to gain access Holy chakra that surrounds the world. In other words, it allows you to access a near endless supply of chakra but it only lasts for a certain period of time. The second level of our bloodline allows you to call upon Soul Calibur's secondary form. What I mean is that Soul Calibur has a second form that is more powerful than what it is right now. Right now, it's in its Sealed State but unlocking would allow you to gain the power held within. Also, the Holy chakra solidifies around your body to form an armor. Once, you received the armor, Kami considers you one of her guards. Only after you prove yourself to her will she use her powers to unlock the final stage of our bloodline._

_The final stage of our bloodline is said to give us the wings of angels. Stories say that it is Kami's gift to our clan for our loyalty and with the usage of our wings, it led to the creation of a new array of jutsus. Not much is known of this level since no one has reached this stage other than the first Namikaze named Siegfried. I was only able to reach the second stage of our bloodline, but I know that you will surpass me and reach the third. _

_At the bottom of this letter, there are several seals which contain scrolls that will help you become a stronger shinobi. The first contains my notes for Hiraishin. The second contains the remaining Namikaze scrolls. And the third holds my notes on sealing in general. I had a feeling that you would follow in my footsteps in the art, so I sealed it just in case._

_Be strong, my son_

_Your father, Minato Namikaze_

Naruto couldn't help but gap at the power that his father's bloodline held. Inside his mindscape, the spirits were doing the same thing as they looked at the spiritual form of Soul Calibur, who just looked at them with an exasperated look. They couldn't believe the fact that a clan wielded the power of Kami's royal guard and that Naruto was a descendant of said clan. It took a few minutes before Naruto was able to get over his initial shock. He just shook his head before he grabbed the other scroll and went to Training Ground 44. He hoped to find someone to talk to about this but he was disappointed when no one was there. With a sigh, he just started to unseal the scrolls from the seals located at the bottom of the letter. Three different scrolls emerged in a cloud of white smoke and Naruto could only look at them before he placed them down on the nearby table. He picked up the other scroll he had before opening it and reading it.

_Hello again Naru-chan_

_If you are reading this, then you must have already read the apology letters from both your father and me. Like your father's clan, the Uzumaki clan has a bloodline called 'Demon's Night', which is a combination of a chakra bloodline with an eye bloodline. Our eye bloodline allows us Uzumaki to weave some pretty intricate Genjutsus over our enemies while our chakra bloodline allows us to use Chaos chakra, which allows our clan to use special jutsus like Dark Release, Void Release, and Chaos Release. The Uzumaki bloodline is special like the Namikaze's because we were descendants of the Shinigami's honor guard called Berserkers. You should have seen our faces when we told each other about our bloodlines. It was priceless._

_Anyway, our bloodline has three levels. The first allows us to use Force Edge to its full power in its sealed state form while allowing our eye's to start using some of the basic Genjutsu, even with horrible chakra control. The second level allows you to unlock Force Edge's Second Form. The Genjutsu becomes stronger to the point that breaking out of it requires quite a bit of chakra. Beginner Sharingan users with one or two tomes will have trouble with this. In addition, you will get the armor for the Berserker and serve Shinigami. After proving your loyalty, the death god shall unlock the final stage of the bloodline._

_The fabled final stage of the bloodline allows the user to call upon the full might of the strongest of the Berserkers, the Death Knight. However, only Sparta was able to reach this stage of the bloodline and only he was able to discover the power. Legends state that the power allowed him to use a new arsenal of jutsus and that the user will be able to cast Genjutsu that would give shinobi with the matured Sharingan trouble. Other than that, not much is known about the last stage other than that. _

_Finally, my son, know that I will always love you with all my heart and joy. In this scroll, I placed some of our family's jutsus and notes of sealing. I also have sealed both mine and Minato's wedding rings along with a necklace that your father made for me. It's for you to know that we will always be with you, no matter what._

_Lots of love,_

_Kushina Senju Uzumaki Namikaze_

After reading the scroll, the young Uzumaki couldn't help but start crying from the fact that his parents had left him something to remember them by. Knowing that they had loved him from his birth until their deaths made the blonde brim with tears. He somehow knew that he would be able to forgive his father for sealing the Kyuubi into him. Allowing the tears to fall down, he reached for the scroll before unsealing the items. The first was a simple chain necklace with a pendant. The pendant contained a unique gem that was green on the bottom but faded into a sky blue as it ascended until it reached the top. Located at the middle of the gem was an engraving of a swirl he had seen many times on the flak jackets and headbands Konoha shinobi wore. Next to the necklace was a pair of simple rings with a gem on top. One was gold with a ruby placed on top while the kanji for 'Love' was engraved on it. The other was silver with a garnet located on top of the ring while the kanji for 'True' was engraved on it.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at the words engraved on his parent's rings. He unhooked the necklace and placed it around his neck before sealing the rings away along with his family scrolls. Afterwards, he walked to a nearby window and looked up into the sky.

'_I wonder,'_ He thought to himself. _'Would you be proud of me? Am I living up to your expectations?'_

Little did he know that his parents were looking down at him from heaven with smiles on their faces.

_End Flashback_

_Real World_

Naruto blinked his eyes as he found himself returning to reality. He surveyed his surroundings to find that the sun was already setting. His clones were still training but they were starting to dispel in groups of ten in thirty second intervals so his brain wouldn't overload from the information. The blonde boy stood up before he dusted himself off and grabbed his two blades. He attached both of them on his back before walking back into the house. However, if we would have taken the time to look into a nearby puddle, he would have seen his eyes flicker from his normal blue to a dark crimson before returning.

_Next morning_

It was another peaceful day in Konoha as the wind blew through the village while the surrounding trees swayed lightly with the wind. Up above, the white puffs of clouds lazily float across the blue canvas while the sun brightly shone above the citizens of the village, Animals of all kinds scurried about as they tried to find food for their morning meals.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

The scream echoed all throughout the village, startling the people that were already awake but also waking up those who were still asleep. Flocks of birds rapidly flew away from the treetops while the animals rushed back into their holes in fear. The source of the scream originated from a blonde boy in a house located in the Forest of Death. He was located within the bathroom of the building, looking at his reflection that was made by a mirror. He had looked at the reflective object after taking a shower and was in the process of drying off when he saw something that surprised him. His eyes were completely different.

Instead of the normal blue, they were now a blood red color while the pupil was outlined in black. In the middle of his eyes, two slits formed a plus sign that extended the diameter of his pupil while the space in between the plus sign and the outlines was shaded in the same blood red.

'_W-What is this?'_ he asked himself as he stared into his eyes.

'_I believe that you have activated the other portion of the bloodline,' _answered Velena. _'I would ask Force Edge about that. He would be the one to know.'_

'_Force-sensei? Do you know what happened to my eyes?'_

'_**You have activated the Devil's eye,' **_Force Edge replied. _**'If I remember correctly, it is based on illusion techniques.'**_

_'But I'm not good with illusion techniques!'_

'_**Of course you're not,' **_retorted the demon knight. _**'None of the Berserkers were skilled in it because of their large chakra capacities. It was thanks to this eye that they were even able to attempt illusions.'**_

'_It is the same way with the Paladins, young one,' _ added Soul Calibur. _'You might have it worst from the fact that you have three coils that contain a rather supply of chakra. And do not forget to train yourself. Just because you have those eyes doesn't mean that you will become powerful or a master in Genjutsu.'_

'_**Soul Calibur is right,' **_Force Edge said. _**'I've seen a few Berserkers fall from overconfidence and arrogance because of their belief that their eyes made them invincible.'**_

'_I won't forget sensei,' _Naruto replies back to them. '_What's on our agenda today?'_

'_Well, make your clones for training first before you come into the mindscape. We want to talk to you,' _said Bahamut

'_Yes sensei.'_

The young Uzumaki exited the bathroom fully dressed in his normal training attire that consisted of a black long sleeve shirt accompanied with black ANBU combat pants and his steel-toed boots. He also had his knife belt wrapped around his waist along his shoulder plates. The blonde entered the living room to find no one there but him. He did notice small stack of scrolls with a piece of paper placed on top of it. He went to the table before reading the paper.

_Dear Naruto_

_I'm sorry that Yugao, Yamato, and I cannot be there for you on your birthday. Something came up at HQ and we were called for a mission. Yugao said that you shouldn't go out tonight and take care. We left out presents there with you. Some of our friends wanted to give you presents as well. And don't worry, we checked to make sure they were safe._

_With lots of love,_

_Yamato, Kakashi and Yugao_

_P.S. If something happens, use what you learned_.

_P.S.S Tell me what you think of the clothes - Kakashi_

With a smile, Naruto placed the note down before examining the scrolls. The presents included scrolls on poisons and antidotes from Anko, a book on Salves and Basic First Aid from Yugao, and coupons for Ichiraku Ramen from the Ichiraku family. The most interesting were two large piece of cloth HE grabbed the first piece of cloth and it unfolded to be a dark blue long sleeve shirt with the neck attached to a mask like the one Kakashi wore every day. The second piece of cloth was a large dark blue jacket with a hood on it. He placed both of them on top the pile of scrolls before he left the building. Once outside, he created seven small platoons of clones using all three of his coils before they dispersed to train. The original took a few minutes to catch his breath before he sat down with his back against a nearby tree before entering his mindscape.

Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself in a familiar chamber with symbols shining brightly from the ceiling. Standing in the middle of the chambers, his seven senseis gave him a smile as soon as they spotted him before waving him over to them.

"What is it that you need, senseis?" he asked them.

"_You have progressed much throughout the training,' _Bahamut said. _"You still have a lot to learn but you have learned much through our teachings."_

"I am humbled that you think so," he responded to the Fire elemental before bowing to him.

"_We believe it is time for you to start the next phase of your training," _Odin stated.

"What is it that you need me to do?"

"_It would be hard for you to do,"_ Velena said, _"You will… have to take a life."_

"What?"

"_You will have to kill someone."_

"I don't understand. Why do I have to kill someone now?"

"_We don't ask you to do it now," _Ares answers. _"It would be traumatizing for you to do so right now but we need you to do it so you can grow accustomed of doing it."_

"_**Don't mistake their intensions, child," **_Force Edge said with a growl as soon as he saw the look on Naruto's face. _**"They want you to take your first kill because there is a possibility you will freeze up after doing so. That is the trauma of killing someone and by doing so, someone can kill you or those who are with you."**_

"I-I guess I understand."

"_We are not asking you to take your first kill now," _Exodus said in his low voice. _"But eventually, you need to so you won't freeze up. Many good people have died because they froze up after claiming their first life and we don't want that to happen to you."_

"_We will talk to you after you have done so,"_ Velena said. _"The next thing is very important."_

"What is it?" Naruto asked them patiently.

"_Since today is your birthday, we all decided to get you something," _Bahamut said with a smile as he placed his hand on the boy's head while his other hand grabbed a large scroll. _"Your chakra capacity is big enough, so we decided to give you this."_

"What is this?"

"_This is a summoning contract," _explained Odin. _"It allows you call forth the animal that the contract is for. Normally, you would have to summon the boss of the clan but since we have taken this form, we were made the clan heads by our summons."_

"_I have given you the right to summon the Dragon clan while my friend, Exodus, gives you the right to call forth the Golems," _Bahamut explained to the boy, who was still staring at the scroll. _"Plus, you can summon me, Odin, or Exodus."_

"T-Thank you so much," Naruto said as he allowed the tears to flow from his eyes before giving the three of them a large hug. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"_It is no problem little one," _Odin said with a chuckle.

"_I guess it's my turn," _Velena said before stepping forward. _"I give you this, Naruto. I give you the ability of intelligence and invention. You will have the ability to become smarter through hard work and constant studying. Plus, you will be able to invent new toys for you to play with."_

With that, she placed a soft kiss on Naruto's forehead before backing away and giving the blushing boy a small smile. Naruto just gave her a hug while allowing the happiness flow through him. Velena just wrapped her arms around the boy before pulling away and motioning towards Ares.

"_I'm next then," _she said cheerfully. _"My gift to you is the ability to use instruments and make music!"_

At this point, the other spirits just sweat dropped at the statement. Naruto just looked at her with confusion.

"What is an instrument?" he asked.

"_You use them to make music and it's very relaxing when you have nothing to do," Ares_ responded. _"It will be helpful. Trust me on that!"_

With that, Naruto just gives her a big smile before hugging her as well. Ares just smiled before she softly kissed the boy's forehead. A small glow started to cover him before it faded slowly.

"_Unfortunately, we will not be able to give you anything," _Soul Calibur said with sorrow.

"It is all right senseis," Naruto replied as he waved it off. "You're here. That's all that matters."

"_**Even though we can't give you any gifts, we can still tell you Happy Birthday, child," **_Force Edge said as he placed his hand on the boy's head. _**"You have been picking up our teachings quickly and soon, you will be ready."**_

"Thank you for everything," said the blonde. "You've done so much for me."

The seven spirits just gave him a smile and with that, Naruto started to fade away.

The hours go by quickly for the Namikaze as he finished his training. As the darkness started to make itself more evident, Naruto just looked at the clearing before nodding to the nearest clone. The clone dispersed and before long, small groups started to disperse as well. Deciding to celebrate for his birthday, the blonde boy started to head to the village.

In another section of Konoha, villagers were gathering during the festivities with a plan. The crowd continued to grow bigger as more and more people came to join in. Soon, pitchforks and other weapons were passed around.

"Tonight, the demon dies!" one villager cried out over the crowd, which received a large amount of approval. "No more will we have to deal with this demon in our village! Let's go!"

With that, the large group marched on towards the boy's apartment, believing that they would finally kill the boy. Naruto, on the other hand, just continued to walk through the unusually empty streets towards Ichiraku's, not knowing of what was about to happen.

'_There are usually a lot of people tonight…'_ Naruto thought to himself_. 'I would usually find myself running from them. Something is wrong…'_

'_Watch your back, young one,' _ warned Exodus.

'_Of course sensei.'_

'_Something is coming.'_

Naruto just narrowed his eyes as he heard the cheers of people and the sound of footwear hitting the ground. He stopped moving as he tensed his muscles, preparing himself for whatever was going to happen next.

The villagers walked towards their target's apartment to kill him with anticipation. Their enthusiasm reached new heights when they spotted the blonde boy standing in the middle of the street as soon as they went around the corner.

"There it is!" cried out a villager as the members of the large mob grinned sadistically. "Kill it!"

Naruto had expected the sounds he had heard to be a mob of people with their annual attempt to kill him. In response to this, he had already planned a route out of the street by using a nearby alleyway. Once the mob went around the corner and started their chase, he broke into a run through the alley. The young boy quickly ran away as the shouts of the mob reached his ears. He spotted the wall in front of him and after a few seconds of looking at it, he was able see the imperfections it like extruding bricks, cracks on the walls, and ledges from window frames. He also spotted an extruding brick about two meters above ground level.

'_There's a spot,'_ he thinks to himself. _'And there's another… and another. That's my path up. Sensei said that running up would give me a boost I need to catch something to help my climb.'_

Reassuring himself of his plan, the blonde raced forward until he was less than a meter away from the wall. At that point, he planted his foot on the wall before using the momentum to propel himself up. When he started to feel himself slow down, his arms flew out and grabbed a nearby window frame. As the adrenaline started to leave him, he could hear the sounds of the mob getting louder and that pushed him to start this climb up. It was a minute long climb before he was able to reach the top of the roof. From there, he started to run as the sounds of his pursuers increased in volume. Then, he jumped down from the rooftop, landing on the ground with a solid thud before continuing with his run.

Unknown to the Uzumaki, a group of shinobi had split off from the masses with intent to catch up with their target and slow it down enough for the others to catch up. They were currently running along the rooftops at top speed, knowing that the demon was at least a mile away from them.

Ahead, Naruto had climbed a stack of crates, as they acted as set of stairs. He was currently jumping the gaps between the buildings. Unfortunately, as he tried to catch the ledge during his last jump, he felt gravity's grip pulling him down. His arms tried to reach out but they weren't able to catch the roof but he was able to catch the wooden frame of the building. His momentum continued and he smashed through a window before slamming onto the wooden floor. Luckily, he had anticipated the force would push him back into the air for a split second and he was able to recover slightly. From that point, he continued in his run through the building before coming to a stop at the balcony. There was no clear route to go and any other building was too far to reach. Silence ensued but he soon heard the faint sound of feet hitting the tiles on the roof.

'_Where am I going to hide?'_ he thought_. 'The shinobi are coming and there is nowhere to go.'_

'_There's a wagon filled with hay at the bottom,' _suggested Ares.

'_Anything else? I don't really want to jump if I can help it'_

'_No, I don't see anything.'_

'_I guess I need to jump…'_

'_You know what's going to happen if things go wrong.'_

_'I hope that it won't resort to that, sensei.'_

With that, Naruto stood on top the railing before jumping off towards the wagon with hay. His arms were outstretched like a pair of wings as he accepted the feel of gravity wrapping around him while he plummeted into the hay two stories below him. During his descent, he flipped around so that he landed into the bale on his butt. The hay flew up when he impacted it before falling down, completely covering his form with it.

'_Bury yourself into the hay some more just in case,' _Bahamut said.

Following his sensei's instructions, he crawled deeper into the substance while giving himself some room breath so he didn't suffocate in it. Silence returned as soon as he stopped moving and it would last a few minutes until he heard the sound of people coming.

"Where did he go?" someone asked.

"I don't know," answered another. "He probably went that way."

"What about this hay bale?" questioned a third person.

"It's too obvious to hide in it. We won't find it there," reasoned one of four.

"What if that is what it wants you think?" argued another.

"Aren't you over thinking this?"

"Aren't you under analyzing the situation?"

"How about we form a compromise then?" suggested one of the shinobi.

"We don't have time for this!" one person yelled to another. "The demon is getting away while we stay here and argue about this! You know what! I'll go ahead and try to gain back the ground I lost trying to talk to you three!"

'_And now, there are three…' _thought Naruto as he heard the sound of one of his four pursuers disappear before he continued to listen in to the conversation.

"Now what should we do?"

"You two go with him. If he's right, then the demon could have gone in any direction."

"What about you?"

"I'll search the hay. If it's not in here, I'll be with you in a few minutes."

With that, the two other shinobi left using shunshin with hopes to find the blonde boy, leaving the last one.

'_So I have to deal with him. At least it's better than dealing with all four of them.'_

'_You need to take him out quickly,' _Bahamut said_. 'The mob is quickly closing ground and if you don't get away from here, then things will become complicated.'_

'_Of course sensei.'_

Outside the wagon filled with hay, the shinobi just turned around to look at the unmoving substance before releasing a sigh.

"What was I thinking?" he said aloud. "I mean what are the chances the demon's actually in there."

With that, he proceeded to move towards the hay before starting to search it. His hands started at the top of the pile before moving downwards. At the bottom of the hay, Naruto prepared himself as he silently drew one of his throwing knives from its sheathe. He slowly rotated it so he was holding the weapon in a reverse grip and continued to wait in anticipation.

Minutes passed by as the shinobi's search became more lazy while the sounds of people walking started to increase in volume. Suddenly, everything became silent around him and the blonde boy couldn't help but take a breath in while he tightened his hold over his knife. Relief came to him as soon as he heard the shinobi's voice.

"He's not in there… Damn, I hoped to get lucky. Now the others are going to get the credit of getting that demon now."

The shinobi leapt away from the wagon with intent to catch up with his comrades. Naruto just laid at the bottom of the wagon for a few more minutes before slowly peeking outside it. Seeing nothing, he pulled himself out before sheathing the knife and dusting the hay off his body. He looked up to see the moon shining brightly.

'_Where should I go now? I can't go towards my apartment since that's probably the first place the mob might go to.'_

'_What about the Hokage? Shouldn't he be home right now?' _Velena asked him.

'_It depends if he has a meeting or not.'_

'_Well, take the chance and go to him. It's better than staying out here.'_

Naruto mentally nodded before starting to run through the clear streets towards the Hokage's Mansion. It took him a few minutes before he reached a section of the village with the lights barely lit. He cautiously moved through the open street, as all he heard was the sound of the soft breeze. Suddenly, someone appeared before him but with the limited amount of light, the boy was only able to see the rough outline of the person, which didn't help him at all. Tensing his muscles, Naruto found himself getting ready as one of his hands drifted to his belt and slowly taking hold of the top most knife while his other hand took hold of a kunai from his backside pouch. Naruto slowly shuffled backwards as the figure continued to move forwards. Soon, the boy was standing under a light and he mentally cursed for being so clueless. However, luck seemed to be on his side.

"Naruto?"

Confusion reached the blonde's face as he watched as the figure enter the light. The figure turned into a male wearing a long sleeve shirt, black pants, and a jacket with a fur collar. Both sleeves of his shirt and one of the pant legs had bandages wrapped around them while a sash was denoting a symbol the boy had never seen before. His face held brown eyes while his hair was short, black, and spiky.

"W-Who are you?" Naruto asked warily as he tightened his grip on his weapons.

"I'm Asuma Sarutobi," the man said. "The Third Hokage's son."

"Jiji's son?" Naruto repeated as he looked at the man in front of him incredulously. "He never told me about you before. And how do you know my name?"

"Jiji?" Asuma asked with his eyebrow raised. "You mean my pops?"

"Yeah…"

"Weird for you to call him that but doesn't really matter to me. The reason I know your name is because pops always rants about how the civilian council wants you dead or how the elders want to turn you into a weapon. He does his best to keep it from affect him but I think he's getting close to his breaking point soon."

"Oh ok. Is he home?"

"He was there before I left. Why do you ask?"

"I need to see him."

"Uh… I guess you can. Just follow me."

With that said, the confused shinobi led the young blonde boy towards the mansion that his family currently resided in. It took only a few minutes since it was a short distance away and the first thing the boy was able to see was the large metal fence that surrounded the building. It only had one entrance in the form of a large metal gate with a kanji that the blonde hasn't seen before embedded on it. Asuma pressed his hand on the kanji, which caused it to glow a light shade of blue before fading away quickly. . A loud creaking suddenly filled the air before a large slam cuts through the air, resulting in the kanji to turn clockwise ninety degrees. The doors opened and the duo enter, with the doors slamming shut behind them.

Naruto just looked around the compound, easily spotting the large trees that trailed the pathway that led to the entrance to the large two-story building. Above the main entrance was a balcony that supported a few chairs and a glass door that led into the house. Orange tiles covered the rooftop while lush green grass covered the negative space on the ground. Walkways split off into different directions with a large one heading towards the entrance. Suddenly, the massive wooden double doors of the mansion swung open to reveal a man Naruto knew quite well. Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Asuma, you're back early," the old man stated, not noticing the small child behind his son. "What happened?"

"Nothing can get past you pops," Asuma said with a small smile, earning a chuckle for his father. "Well, I'm here because he wanted to talk to you."

"Who?" asked the older Sarutobi before spotting the mop of spiky blonde hair. "Naruto! What is it you need, my boy?"

"There was another one today Jiji," Naruto answered cryptically. "I was able to get away from them but barely."

"Another one," Hiruzen says as his eyes narrow. "Where were Yamato, Dog, and Cat?"

"They were sent on a mission. That's what it said on their note."

"Pops, what is he talking about?" Asuma asked curiously as he rarely saw that look from his father. "Another one of what? And who are Yamato, Dog, and Cat?"

The young boy and the old man looked at each other before the latter released a sigh. He turned towards his son after receiving a nod from the young Uzumaki.

"Asuma, what I'm about to tell you is Mid to High A class secret," he said seriously. "Hell, it could be S class from the information."

"W-What?" Asuma asked in shock. "What does this have to do with him?"

"Everything," the old man said. "Let me activate the privacy seal before we continue."

"I got it covered Jiji," Naruto said, interrupting the Hokage before he pulled out a tag and slapped it on the nearby pillar, launching a pulse of blue chakra in all directions. "Privacy seal is up."

"Thank you Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said before spotting Asuma's look. "Before you ask anything, let Naruto and me tell you everything first. I trust you because you are my son."

"The reason I'm here is because another mob that contained shinobi and civilians alike tried to kill me again," Naruto said before seeing the look on the man's face. "And when I mean again, I mean again. They have tried to kill many times and even more times beat me until I could not move. It all started to lessen when I began my studies under my senseis."

"They must be Cat and Dog," Asuma says, interrupting the boy. "ANBU, right?"

"Correct," answered the elder Sarutobi, deciding to tell him only part of the truth on this part. "Ever since they have been training him, he's been able to avoid most of the attempts on his life and those he can't, his senseis are there to stop them before things get bad enough."

"So how is that an A class secret that borders S class?" Asuma asked with confusion.

"The reason it's that high is because I'm the jailor of the Kyuubi," the blonde answered bluntly.

"S-So that is what that law you made years ago is for," stuttered the Hokage's son as he looked at his father.

"Indeed," Hiruzen answered. "Asuma, I made that law with intention to protect Naruto to the best of my capabilities. You left the village a few days later because of your duties as a guardian."

"I understand now…"

"Another reason it's high ranking secret is so that a small group know that he is training to become a ninja. We both know that the prejudice against him will lead to failure in his studies."

Asuma could only nod as he turned his head to look at the blonde boy standing beside him. Naruto just looked at the Third Hokage before looking Asuma in the eyes. As if an unspoken conversation between the two just ended, they both nodded to each other. Suddenly, the blonde started to sway.

"Are you ok Naruto-kun?"

"Just tired Jiji," the boy responded with a yawn.

"You will sleep here tonight. There is bedroom upstairs that you can take. Just go up the stairs and take a right. It's the first door on the left."

Naruto just nodded at the instructions before starting towards the bedroom, only to be called by the Hokage once again.

"Rest up Naruto. Tomorrow is your exam, remember. This one is going to be different from the last one."

Realization struck the boy and he headed to bed, leaving the two Sarutobi males time alone. The elder pulled the privacy seal off, causing the wave of chakra to dissipate into nothing.

"What should I do pops? I want to help him as well."

"Just protect him whenever he needs it."

"I promise pops, I promise I'll be there for him."

**A/N: Thank you for reading.**

**Poll: Which long range weapon would be suitable for a shinobi?**

**Bow and Arrows**

**Crossbow**

**Read and Review. No flames but advice is welcomed.**

**Shadow**


	5. Chapter 5: Lightning Strikes

Chapter 5: Lightning Strikes More Than Twice

**A/N: Hello fellow readers. I'm sorry for the lack of updates but my personal life has become a rollercoaster as of lately. My great-grandmother is in the hospital and she isn't doing well. I've been spending a large portion of the last few months taking care of her, which is the reason for my lack of progress. **

**Anyway, here's my words for the harem, Naruto will not be having Hinata as part of it. I have another role for her. **

**Here's the Harem as of right now:**

**The Ice Queens of Konoha (Kurenai Yuhi, Anko Mitarashi, Yugao, Uzuki, and Hana Inuzuka)**

**Fem Kyuubi/Rei**

**Fem Shukaku**

**Fem Nibi**

**Samui**

**Yugito**

**Mei Terumi**

**If anyone wants anyone added, send it as a PM or a review and I will look at it. However, it will be up to me if said female makes the cut. Anyway, on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the bloodlines and a few jutsus. Enjoy the story.**

_Previously on Fate of One: The Elements_

_Naruto just nodded at the instructions before starting towards the bedroom, only to be called by the Hokage once again._

"_Rest up Naruto. Tomorrow is your exam, remember. This one is going to be different from the last one."_

_Realization struck the boy and he headed to bed, leaving the two Sarutobi males time alone. The elder pulled the privacy seal off, causing the wave of chakra to dissipate into nothing._

"_What should I do pops? I want to help him as well."_

"_Just protect him whenever he needs it."_

"_I promise pops, I promise I'll be there for him."_

_Start of Chapter 5_

The morning sun peeked out from its hiding spot, bringing forth warmth to all beings, living and nonliving. The chirps of the birds echoed throughout the busied streets of the village while the animals rushed through the shrubs. The sounds of metal clash with metal rang from the training grounds Outside of the busy area, a small group stood at a clearing. The first was an old man with his full ninja grabs that consisted of a solid black suit with a plated helmet. The second was a young boy, eleven of age, with two large swords attached to his back. He was had his shoulder plates and belt with knife holsters on him. The bottom half of his face was covered in the same dark blue mask that Kakashi had while a dark colored hood hid his spiky blonde hair from the world. These two stood at opposite sides of the field while a smaller group that consisted of four masked shinobis and another with a cigarette in his mouth. At the middle of the field, a small flower stood and faced the torrent of the wind as it blew by. One by one, the petals flew off into the distance until one remained, holding on to the stem for dear life. With another gust of wind, the petal finally flew off and the old Hokage made the first move as he launched a single kunai at the blonde boy.

'**Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" called the Hokage as his single Kunai multiplied into a hundred. Naruto just looked at it before he drew his white crystal blade from his back. He quickly lifted it above his head before stabbing it into the ground. It launched a wave of snow white energy a meter forward.

"**Soul Calibur Release: Raging Tundra!**" shouted the blonde boy.

From the ground, several spikes of light blue ice emerged from the ground where the white energy was. It towered over the whole field and provided the blonde boy a defense as the kunais all impacted the frozen wall. Naruto pulled the large sword from the ground before spinning around and making a vertical slash. It launched another wave of white energy at the old shinobi, who dodged it rather gracefully while his hands flew through seals.

"**Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb**!"

A torrent of flames rocketed from the Hokage's mouth before impacting the spot where the blonde boy once stood. A large cloud of smoke and dust filled the air, distorting the clarity of anything in the cloud. The Hokage could only watch the cloud with narrowed eyes before he spotted several glints from within. His eyes widened quickly before he moved away from his spot. As soon as he did so, several projectiles stabbed themselves into the tree right behind him. Hiruzen's hands blurred through several seals as he spotted more glints aimed at his direction from within the dust cloud.

"**Wind Release: Great Breakthrough**!"

The old man inhaled deeply before he exhaled a rather large gust of wind that pushed the flying projectiles off course and blew the dust away to reveal the large blade imbedded into the ground while the blonde boy held on to it. As the wind died down, the two combatants just looked at each other. Quickly, the old Kage drew a pair of kunais from his pouch and held them in a reverse grip. The pair rushed at each other and resulted in their weapons clashing. Every slash Naruto made was blocked or parried by the Kage's pair of kunais. All of the elder Sarutobi's stabs were swatted to the side by the flat side of the crystal blade. Spotting an opening, the young Uzumaki made a horizontal slash but little did he know that the Kage had expected the attack. With a swift kick to the boys chest, he sent him flying a few meters back.

"You're progressing well Naruto," said Hiruzen with a smile. "However, I believe we are both fully warmed up now."

"Thanks for the compliment," replied Naruto with a grin. "And why don't we step things up a level?"

"Very well. Let's begin your first lesson," called the Kage, which earned him a confused look from the boy. "Ninjutsu! **Earth Release: Mud Dragon Bullet**!"

From the ground emerged the head of a dragon and started to fire blobs of mud at the blonde boy. Naruto, on the other hand, jumped back and went through hand seals as the attacks flew towards him.

"**Water Release: Water Encampment Wall**!"

A large wall of water appeared from the ground and reached to a height of a dozen feet before the bullets of mud impacted it. However, the blobs impacted it at such a high speed that it battered the wall relentlessly and thus allowing some of the bullets to phase through. This caught the blonde unexpectedly as a few of the attacks slammed into the ground near him, causing small craters to appear.

_'Damn! I thought that the wall would be able to stop that!' _thought Naruto as he watched his water wall started to collapse from the onslaught. _'I can't fight him head on just like that otherwise I might get myself killed. I need to think...'_

The blonde jumped away from his spot just as the wall of liquid collapsed and allowed the hail of earth to pelt the ground where he once stood. In the midst of the dust, Naruto took hold of Soul Calibur and started to focus his chakra. With a feral growl, he jumped forward before he thrust his blade forward. The crystal on the weapon started to glow in a blue light and started to grow brighter.

_'Whatever that is, I need to stop him,'_ thought the Hokage as he rushed forwards with hopes to stop the attack. Unfortunately, he was too late to stop it as the blonde boy lurched forward with his blade while the blue crystal glowed with a menacing blue.

"**Soul Calibur Release: Hunting Wolf**!" cried Naruto as the blue light surged from the crystal to the tip of the large blade before launching itself at the old man at breakneck speeds. The attack started out as a blue light before it quickly started to shape itself into a wolf a meter tall. It soon turned to a game of cat and mouse as the Hokage jumped around while trying to destroy the wolf. The old man sped forward with a burst of speed before creating a clone right beside him. The two stopped in their tracks and faced their pursuer as their hands blurred through several hand seals.

"**Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb**!"

"**Wind Release: Great Breakthrough**!"

The combination of the two jutsus created a large firestorm that engulfed the chakra made animal before destroying it. The firestorm continued to surge forward, burning anything it touched as it approached the blonde boy. Naruto, on the other hand, stabbed his crystal blade into the ground before he moved forward towards the oncoming flames. With a predatory grin, he clapped his hands together before thrusting towards the fire. The onlookers couldn't help but gasp as the blaze consumed the blonde boy. Asuma couldn't help but look with sadness at the thought of the blonde boy's death. However, Yugao, Kakashi, and Yamato couldn't help but worry at the thought of their student/friend being hurt. The Hokage could only narrow his eyes as he watched his flames engulf the boy and much to his surprise, the fire split right in half to reveal the boy unscathed while a grin was on his face. The three ANBU agents could only sigh in relief at the sight of the young Uzumaki while Asuma let his eyes widen at the scene he had just witnessed.

"My turn," said Naruto with a predatory grin as his arms started to go through several motions, which drew the scattered flames towards him. He cocked his fist back and the flames rushed towards it before he punched the air in front of him, releasing a torrent of flames towards the old Kage. This act caught the old man off guard as he quickly jumped away from the first wave of flames while his hands flew through several seals.

"**Water Release: Water Dragon**!"

From the nearby stream, a large amount of water spout up before twisting itself towards the incoming flames. It took the attack head on and plowed right through with intent on destroying the blonde boy. Naruto just moved backwards as his hands pulled Soul Calibur from the ground before jumping backwards.

"**Soul Calibur Release: White Fang**!" shouted the blonde as he swung his blade several times, sending a number of snow white waves of energy towards the rapidly approaching spout of water. The waves connected the water, splitting it and freezing a portion of it with every impact. Much to the blonde's dismay, the water continued to surge forward and thus made his attack unless. He started to jump away as the water slammed into the ground next to him.

"You're going to have to try harder than that to prove to me your worth, Naruto," called Hiruzen as he made two more clones. "Let's see how you handle this! **Earth Release: Mud Dragon Bullet**!'

"**Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Flower**!"

"**Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb**!"

Right in front of the old Kage, another dragon head appeared and fired a hail of mud balls at a fast pace. One of the clones exhaled a storm of fireballs while the other launched a large torrent of flames towards the boy. With the situation turning grim, Naruto placed Soul Calibur on his back before going through a multitude of handseals.

"**Judgment Release: Spatial Collapse**!" roared the blonde boy as his right hand thrust forward as it glowed a dark yellow color. The jutsu was unknown to everyone else as they watched the area in front of boy become distorted. As the attacks made into the area, they suddenly exploded and created a large black cloud.

"W-What happened?" asked Yugao as she watched the events occur.

"I h-honestly don't know," answered Kakashi as he mentally prayed that the blonde child was alive and well. "I hope that he's alright."

The cloud blew away to reveal the young Uzumaki lightly panting while several burnt marks marred his clothes. He took a deep breath and looked at the old man from across the field.

"That was a powerful attack," commented Naruto as he made a clone appear right beside him before their hands flew through several seals. "Here's mine! **Fire Release: Titan's Outrage**!"

"**Wind Release: Storm of the Swallows**!"

A large gust of wind blew through the field as it buffeted everything in its path while a large blast of flames exited Naruto's mouth. The wind fueled the flames, causing it to grow even hotter and faster than before. The Hokage looked with wide eyes as the flames neared him. The flames passed his location, leaving a scorched mark on the ground and no sign of the Kage. A light breeze blew over as the young boy waited for a single evidence of where the Kage could be.

_'Where could he be?' _thought the boy. _'Up? Down? In the forest?'_

A light glint flashed from the forest for a mere nanosecond. Something that Naruto caught from the corner of his eye and moving faster than any child his age should be, he drew one of his throwing knives and launched it at the location of the glint. A loud, audible thud echoed as a sign that the knife had hit a tree. With narrowed eyes, the blonde cautiously approached the forest but something caught his eyes. It was the Hokage, standing still with a smile on his face.

"Your Ninjutsu is very good, but how will you deal with the next lesson?" asked the elder Sarutobi. "Lesson number 2: Genjutsu!"

As soon as he said those words, he had disappeared in a swirl of leaves, which made the blonde start to sweat a little. He started to look around frantically as darkness started to sprout everywhere.

"How are you going to fight me if can't even see me, Naruto?" asked the voice of the Kage.

_'What do I do?' _thought the frantic blonde. _'I don't know what to do! Damn it! I spent all this time preparing and I get trapped in this stupid illusion! Wait...'_

He took a breath and grabbed Force Edge from his back before stabbing it into the ground before him. Inside of him, his chakra started to flow frantically as the blonde boy closed his eyes. Once he felt the chakra start to circulate through his eyes, he opened them to reveal that they were no longer the blue that he always had but rather menacing red and black.

Outside, the Hokage could only watch at the boy trapped in his world of illusions. He hoped that the young Uzumaki would be able to break out of it and let their evaluation fight continue, but as the minutes flew by, he started to get worried at the thought of the blonde still being trapped. Much to his surprise when he looked at the blonde's eyes, they weren't the normal blue he often saw but rather a mixture of red and black with intricate patterns.

"Naruto?" asked the old man warily as he started to back away just in case things went south. "Are you alright?"

The blonde just turned to look at him before he jumped back quickly and launched a fury of his throwing knives at high chunin speeds. This caught the old man of guard as he narrowly evaded the storm of metal weapons as they made impact on the ground where he once stood.

"That was a low blow," commented the Hokage as he drew his kunai. Naruto lifted Force Edge from its spot on the ground as his eyes returned to their normal blue before giving the old Kage a shrug.

"We're shinobi," answered Naruto as he got into a stance with both of his hands holding on to the large demonic blade. "There is no such thing as low blows."

"You're learning well," replied the Kage as he followed suit and got into a stance with his kunais in hand. "But I believe we have a few more lessons to go. Lesson number 3: Taijutsu!"

With that said, the Hokage threw his two kunais before he sped forward at speeds that the blonde boy was barely able to see. The young Uzumaki blocked the two projectiles with the flat side of his blade before he spotted the Kage about to throw a punch at him. Using his forearm, the blonde swatted it away before he was forced to drop Force Edge in order to block another savage punch from the Hokage. Naruto furiously moved to either block or dodge the man's attacks before he spotted a small opening in his opponent's stance. He capitalized on it and threw a roundhouse kick. Sarutobi had intentionally left an opening to see what would happen and as soon as he saw the kick, he grabbed the blonde's leg with his hand. However, he didn't expect for the boy to push off with his other leg and deliver an axe kick, forcing him to let go of the blonde's leg in order to dodge the attack. Naruto, on the other hand, used the momentum from his missed kick to get himself upright again before he faced the Kage.

"My turn," said Naruto with a predatory grin that made the onlookers a little nervous. He got into a stance the old Kage recognized as the horse stance. If anything, it looked quite similar to the Hyuuga's Taijutsu style except for the fact that his body was closer to the ground. Hiruzen shifted a little as he got into his stance. Suddenly, Naruto rushed forward before stopping a meter in front of the Kage and punched the air in front of him. A stone shot out from nowhere and nearly made impact with Hiruzen he hadn't dodged quickly enough. The young boy soon continued to flow through several stances, launching several punches and kicks towards the Kage. The old man couldn't help but continue to dodge the oncoming assault of flying rocks and stone pillars.

_'I need to get closer to him,' _thought the Sarutobi as he started to make his way towards the blonde while dodging the incoming attacks. He continued to creep up closer to the boy until he has close enough to launch his own counter attack. His assault was met with either a block by the blonde or a piece of stone. Soon enough, the two were trading blow for blow until Naruto was able to land a hard palm strike to the old man's chest and sent him backwards.

"Well Naruto-kun, you've gotten better the last time I saw you," said the Kage. "But let's raise the ante a bit."

"Are you sure?" asked the blonde child in mocking tone. "You've aged quite a bit. Can you even go up an ante?"

The Hokage's eye started to twitch from the comment that the boy made and it didn't help that the five spectators were trying to hold their laughter in.

"You do realize what this means?" asked the annoyed old man as he bit his thumb before blurring through several seals. "**Summoning Jutsu**!"

A cloud of white appeared before quickly dispersing to reveal a monkey covered in white fur. His body was covered in a black suit with mesh armor underneath while a sleeveless kimono shirt laid on top of that. The shirt had a design that was akin to tigers while it had white, fur trimmings. He was taller than the Third while a Konoha forehead protector was wrapped around his head.

_"What is it Sarutobi?" _asked the tall monkey. _"I do not see any trouble."_

"I need you to help me teach this young man a lesson, Enma," replied Hiruzen as he gestured towards the smirking blonde boy across from him. "Let's teach this kid to respect his elders."

_"Isn't this taking that a little too far?"_ questioned Enma, only to receive a glare followed by a negative from his summoner. _"I guessed as much. I feel sorry for the kid...__**Transformation: Adamantine Staff**__!"_

The monkey was quickly enshrouded by a white cloud before the Third stuck his hand in it before he pulled out a massive black staff with yellow endings.

"There is something you should know about Enma's staff form," said Hiruzen with a grin. "It has several abilities that are quite devastating."

"Well, let's prove if your staff can match my blade," responded Naruto as he held Force Edge to the ready.

"**Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Flower**!" called out the Hokage as he spat out a large storm of fire balls.

"**Force Edge Release: Ominous Wind**!" shouted Naruto as he sent a gust of black wind towards the incoming attack. The wind buffeted the balls of fire, whittling away at their outer edges until they were nothing more than wisps and smoke trails. The Hokage jumped away from incoming windstorm, allowing it to slam into the trees behind him and making them barren. Hiruzen quickly lunged forward towards the blonde boy with his staff poised to strike him. Naruto quickly saw this and was barely able to raise his large blade enough to block it. The impact of the staff on the blade caused a large shockwave to erupt all the pair as the ground cracked all around them.

With a grunt, the blonde used all his strength and pushed the old man away before following through with a downward slash. The slash was parried by the large staff before being pushed away. This occurred every few seconds as either one would try and strike their opponent but would only meet a counter, blocking the attacks from reaching their intended target. The two combating shinobi each pushed the other to a higher limit as they started to move quicker and strike harder.

Suddenly, the two appeared in the center of the field with the Hokage's staff locked with Naruto's large sword. Each was struggling to push the other away and with a grunt, Hiruzen pushed the blonde boy back several meters. With sword at hand, Naruto reset his footing before looking at his opponent with a grin.

"Not bad, Jiji," he said jokingly. "Looks like being stuck behind that desk hasn't made you that weak."

"They don't call me the God of Shinobi without a reason," responded the old Kage with a laugh before looking at the boy. "Now where were we?"

"I believe it was me beating your butt," called the blonde as he spun around and threw the large blade at the Kage.

"That isn't going to be enough Naruto," stated the Sarutobi as he watched the large spinning blade head towards him while his hands blurred through a large quantity of hand seals. "I believe that it's time for us to end this. **Forbidden Fire Release: Rise of the Phoenix**!"

A monstrous storm of flames erupted from the grounds behind the old Kage before engulfing him. Force Edge flew right through the flames, hitting nothing before a loud thud echoed throughout the field. Suddenly, the flames started to recede and in its place was Sarutobi clad in a burnt red heavy plated armor. The onlookers could only look at their Kage with surprise.

"I haven't pulled this jutsu out in a while. Let me enlighten you on one of the reasons I'm the Hokage," said Hiruzen before he punched the air in front of him, launching a large fire storm towards the shocked blonde boy.

'_Naruto! Move!'_

The voice was all the blonde boy needed as he shook away his surprise and jumped to the side, allowing the flames to pass him. As the flames shot past him, it left a trail of blackened earth and ashes of the grass and trees in its way.

'_W-What power!' _thought Naruto as he looked at the blackened strip of land before looking at the armor clad Kage. _'Those flames were powerful. If I hadn't dodged that, I probably would be toast. My Fire Element Taijutsu isn't even close enough to produce that kind of power...'_

"What do you think Naruto?" asked the Hokage with a small smile. "This is the power that a Kage possesses in their grasp. Let me teach about this specific jutsu. It gives me the power to harness the flames of the fabled Phoenix, whose flames are third strongest in strength with the Amaterasu of the Uchiha clan being first and the fire of the mythical Dragons being the second."

'_Mythical Dragons?' _stated Bahamut angrily. _'I'll show him mythical! Let me have a piece of him!'_

Naruto just maintained a calm facade, ignoring the cries from the fire elemental within him. He just tightened his grip on Force Edge before getting into his stance. He knew that he could last a handful of minutes before he was overpowered by the old man but he wasn't going down without a fight.

"It's over, Naruto," said Hiruzen.

"No, it isn't over," responded the blonde boy. "I still have a few moves left and I'm not going down without a fight!"

With a loud cry, he channeled more of his chakra before several clouds of smoke appeared around him, signaling the creation of more clones. Out of the clouds stood eleven copies of the blonde boy, all wearing the same fox like grin on their faces before the original walked up in front of the group. The original stabbed Force Edge into the ground before his hands flew through a series of seals while his clones followed suit. In a mass display of chakra capacity, each one of them called out their jutsus.

"**Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb**!"

"**Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Flower**!"

"**Fire Release: Roaring Flames**!"

"**Earth Release: Mud Dragon Bullet**!"

"**Earth Release: Flowing Mud River**!"

"**Wind Release: Air Drilling Bullet**!"

"**Wind Release: Scattering Wind Blades**!"

"**Water Release: Water Fang Bullet**!"

"**Water Release: Water Dragon**!"

"**Lightning Release: Overcharge**!"

"**Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon**!"

A fury of attacks launched themselves from the multiple copies of the blonde. Three of the copies exhaled a combined firestorm from the fire jutsus while the two clones launched the two wind jutsus into the flames, feeding them and causing them to grow even more. Meanwhile, the two water jutsus merged together to form a large torrent of water while mixing with the lightning jutsus. The two combinations of attacks along with the earth jutsus rushed towards the old man, who just stood before cocking his arm back.

Suddenly, he slammed his fist into the ground, causing the earth to rumble before a large wall of fire erupted from the ground in front of him. All Naruto could do was watch as his attacks made impact on the large fire wall, causing a rather large explosion to cover the whole field. Pops echoed around the field as the Naruto clones all dispelled since they fulfilled their purpose. The wall of flames died down to reveal the Hokage in all of his glory while Naruto could only hope that he would be able to catch his breath.

"That was a strong display, Naruto," stated the old man as his hands flew through the seals at insane speeds. "But here's mine. **Forbidden Fire Release: Phoenix Feather Storm**!"

Hiruzen spat out a large ball of fire that quickly took shape as a phoenix. The look alike took the skies before looking down at its target and began to flap its wings. As it beat its wings, darts of fire launched themselves towards the blonde. Naruto, on the other hand, rushed through the hand seals before calling out of his defense.

"**Water Release: Hydra Dragon**!"

From the area around him, moisture and any spare source of water soon started to gather into a large ball that levitated in front of the blonde boy. As the flaming darts quickly drew closer, Naruto launched the ball at them. The ball quickly expanded before it launched several water dragons at the hail of flames. Much to the blonde's disappointment, the water dragons weren't able to take out all of flames but they were able to take out enough that the rest made impact around him. By now, Naruto couldn't help but pant from the large quantity of chakra he had just expended all within a span of a few minutes.

"Are you done, Naruto?" asked the old Kage. "You've pulled some amazing things during this test and couldn't help but be proud of you."

"I.. got one... left...," replied Naruto in between his pants. "I'm not... out yet..."

"Naruto..."

With that, the blonde boy collapsed onto the ground in front of him with a soft thud. All the onlookers rushed towards him along with the Third Hokage. Yugao slowly gathered him in her arms before lifting him up. The blonde boy had felt the warmth from being held so close to the female ANBU that he snuggled deeper into her chest, causing the purple haired kunoichi to blush slightly. Her friends could only chuckle at her current predicament while Kakashi and the Third let out silent perverse giggles at the scene.

As his eyes opened, illuminating the darkness, the white ceilings were the first thing that the blonde boy saw while the breeze of the wind from the open window was the first thing his skin felt other than the comfort of his own clothes. The smell of the morning dew entered his nose while the sound of the chirping birds echoed in his ears. He rubbed his eyes as struggled to sit up on his bed before blinking several times. As his vision clears even more, he spotted the old Hokage in a chair while reading a familiar orange book.

"Hey Jiji!" chirped the blonde boy, causing the Hokage to stumble back on his chair while the book in his hands sent flying.

"Naruto! You're alright!" rejoiced the old man as he tried to desperately hide his book from the boy.

"I can see the book still, Jiji! You're a pervert, aren't you!" As the blonde exclaimed this, small chuckles and giggles were heard around the room. Soon, the air started to become distorted in some areas of the room before it finally cleared to reveal four shinobi, who were all trying to keep themselves from outright laughing at the old man.

"Why won't you stop calling me that? asked the old Kage as a large tick appeared on his forehead.

"You read that perverted smut. If you stop reading it, I might stop calling you that Ero-Jiji. Key word being might."

The four shinobi couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing at the sight of their leader breaking out in anime tears. Hiruzen just gave up and with a sigh while throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. Yamato took this moment to look at the blonde boy that laid on the bed and couldn't help but smile.

"You've gotten stronger, Naruto," he stated, earning him a smile from the boy. "I can't help but think how strong you've become over these two years of training..."

"Thanks Yamato-sensei," responded the blonde boy. "It's all thanks to the training that you all gave me. By the way, why am I at the hospital?"

"Well, you had a case of chakra exhaustion, but it wasn't extreme enough to kill you or anything," answered the Third Hokage before spotting the confusion in the boy's blue eyes. "If anything, I believe that your body isn't use to using that much chakra in a short span of time like what you did. Your body just needs to get use to the strain of using jutsus that require a large amount of chakra."

"What have I told you about straining your body, Naruto-kun?" asked Yugao sweetly as the seemingly darkened a little bit. making the four males in the room start to sweat.

""Um... Uh... You told me... n-not to," stammered the young child as he tried to back away from the purple haired woman. "Don't hurt me Kitty-chan!"

Yugao couldn't help but look into fearful eyes of the boy and hug him, effectively suffocating him in between her breasts. This action caused the two resident perverts, Kakashi and the Hokage, to let out soft giggles at the blonde boy's current predicament. Naruto, who heard the giggles, was able to pull himself away from the female's chest before giving her a reassuring smile.

"Thank you for everything Kitty-chan," he said to her, earning him a small smile. "But it seems like there are some perverts that need to be taken care of."

As soon as he said that, the two giggling men immediately halted as they felt a wave of dread engulf them. Yugao had drawn her katana and was stalking towards the two while Naruto had Soul Calibur in his hand, the blade glowing a menacing frost blue color. Kakashi and the elder Sarutobi looked at each other before jumping out of the room through the windows.

"Come on Jiji! This won't hurt one bit!" shouted Naruto as he gave chase.

"Take your punishment like a man, Kakashi!" yelled Yugao as she followed the blonde out of the broken windows.

Asuma couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh and followed the two anti-perverts to prevent them from doing any damage on one of Konoha's strongest Jonin and his father.

An hour into the chase, the duo of Kakashi Hatake and Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped in the middle of an empty training field a distance away from the hospital.

"Damn, that kid has stamina," panted Kakashi. "Do you think we lost them?"

"I don't know," responded the Hokage. "But I do know that we need to avoid them. Oh no.. There's Yugao..."

Much to the duo's horror, the purple haired swordswoman was indeed standing a few meters away with her sword pointed at them. As she took a step forward, the two males took a step backwards.

"Now, Yugao-chan, don't do anything you might regret," said Kakashi as he continued to back away. "Let's not be hasty about this. Maybe we can talk about this rather _unfortunate _series of events."

"Now, now Kakashi," started the female ANBU. "You know what I do to perverts such as yourselves."

"Please Yugao," pleaded the Hokage as he started to sweat. He was the strongest ninja in the village, but he knew that he was powerless against women, especially if they were angry. After all, hell hath no fury no women scorn. However, Kakashi's mind drifted to something different.

"Hokage-sama, is it just me or does it feel like it got colder all of a sudden?" asked the son of the White Fang, which was answered with confusion before they looked down to find that ice had a hold on their legs.

"Naruto's near! We need to get-"

The statement was interrupted as Naruto appeared right beside Yugao before stabbing his blade into the ground.

"**Soul Calibur Release: Frozen Heaven**!"

The ice the blanketed the two male's legs grew thicker before it climbed up their bodies until it reached the middle of their thighs. It also didn't help that their hands and arms were suddenly frozen as well. Their expressions were priceless as they watched the two pervert hunters approach them with large grins. Naruto went up to the Hokage before reaching into his pouch and pulled out his copy of Icha Icha Paradise 3, Golden Edition and signed by the author. It brought horror to Hiruzen's face and Kakashi wasn't doing just as well as Yugao pulled a similar colored book from his pouch. In her hand was the Jonin's copy of Icha Icha Beach Party Platinum Edition with deleted scenes and author signed. Yugao handed the book to the blonde boy, who looked at the two male's with a large grin.

"How did you get a copy of that Kakashi?!" asked an enraged Hokage. "I've been trying to find one of those for years and you've had one!"

"Uhh… Yeah I did," answered a sweating Cyclops. "I found it in the trash in Kumo during a mission."

"Well, sorry to break up this little feud but," stated Naruto as he flicked his hand, causing it to catch on fire. "These pieces of _Literature_ are going to be recolored just for you, in a better color called ash black."

"NO!" cried both Kakashi and Sarutobi as Naruto let the flames engulf the books, causing them to be eaten quickly before letting out a small, thick cloud of black smoke. Asuma appeared on the field to see the books being burned by Naruto and couldn't help but laugh with Yugao as the two males let out a cry that echoed throughout the whole village.

"Well, it was fun and all but I gotta run!"

He disappeared in a flaming shunshin right after he took hold of Soul Calibur. As he vanished, the fire instantly melted half of the ice, allowing the two partially frozen shinobi some movement. It took them a little effort and some time before they were able to crack the ice. They would have been able to get out faster if Yugao and Asuma had helped, but instead, the pair watched in amusement as the two chipped their ways out. Afterwards, everyone went their separate ways and when the two perverts reached their respective homes, they found their copies of Icha Icha laying on their beds. It wouldn't be until they opened their books to find it was the real copy. They also found a note within the orange books.

_Make sure that I don't see this again or else it will be burned._

_-Naruto _

Letting out little perverted giggles, both took their books and sat in chairs before beginning to read their respective books.

Naruto sat on top of the Hokage Monument, strumming his guitar. The sun slowly descended to rest while the moon starts to ascend in its place.

"One night without any bother…" he said to himself.

_'Am I a bother to you Naru-chan?'_ asked Ares as she connected their mindlink.

_'No, you're not a bother Ares-sensei…'_ he thought. _'Hey Ares- sensei, is Velena-sense there?'_

_'Naru-chan, this is Velena-sensei,' _responded the spirit._ 'What is it?'_

_'I just wanted to thank you. I found that music is quite... soothing for me.'_

_'Of course it is! Never doubt the sound of music!'_

He started to strum his guitar while softly singing a song to himself and to his tenants, unknown of the shadows within the forest listening to the sound of his voice. Within the shadows stood four women with the first being Yugao Uzuki. She could only sigh in content as she listened to the boy sing.

"My Kami, that boy can sing…," commented Yugao as she unconsciously let out a small smile. "What do you girls think?"

"That boy is _definitely_ an Alpha," stated Hana as she licked her lips in anticipation while looking at the blonde boy like a piece of meat. "Now I think following the music was the best idea we had all night."

"Forget about you getting him Hana, he's mine," argued Anko. "I wonder what his blood would taste like? I haven't been able to see him in a while."

"Before you two, start arguing, let me remind you that he is freaking less than 10 years old!" said Kurenai.

"But Nai-chan," whined Anko. "Once he becomes a shinobi, he's considered an adult! And with how much muscle he has, he's going to have a lot of girls after him! It's best to claim him now rather than later when we have to deal with all the potential competition!"

"Not to mention the amount of stamina he has," muttered the purple haired kunoichi, unknown to her that her friends had heard her remark.

"Oh, so Yu-chan is having some inappropriate thoughts about her student," teased Anko, which made the ANBU member blush furiously. "Is she having thoughts of playing teacher and student with him?"

"S-Shut up, Anko!" yelled Yugao while her blush never left her face. She wouldn't admit it but her thoughts about her... student were less than appropriate.

"You didn't deny it!"

Yugao couldn't get any words to leave her mouth as she looked at her friends. They were all looking at her expectantly. She didn't dare speak in fear of digging a deeper grave for herself. That was until Kurenai stepped in to save her friend from even more embarrassment.

"I think that you've teased Yu-chan enough for tonight," she said with a small smile. "We still have missions to do tomorrow so we better head home."

"Fine," said Anko with a pout. "Have fun with the gaki, Yu-chan. I expect details about _everything_ on him."

Yugao just blushed deeper while stuttering to respond to the comment, only to find that her three friends had left her alone there. With a sigh, she left in a swirl of leaves with her thoughts still lingering on the blonde boy sitting on the Fourth Hokage's head.

_Next Day_

It was around noon in the Village Hidden in the Leaves and nothing disturbed the peace more than an army of blondes having an intense training session. It also didn't help that they were practicing on an open field instead of Training Ground 44. All around the field, elements were being launched at several areas of the field with flames roaring nonstop as they were launched from the army's hands or feet. Blades of wind soared through the air, cutting through trees and rocks as if they were made of paper while water flooded a large portion of the training area. Control of earth resulted in the uneven texture while lightning blasted through almost everything in its path. Apart from the large group of elemental control was a circle of six people. Five of them were Odin, Bahamut, Exodus, Velena, and Ares inhabiting reinforced clones while Naruto stood at the opposite side of them. The five spirits were in a battle stance while Naruto held Soul Calibur.

_"Ready for round 2?" _asked Odin as he drew his large double-sided sword and shield. Naruto just panted before holding his blade at the ready.

"Ready as I'll ever be," responded the blonde boy before launching a large way of blue energy at his five teachers. They quickly dodged the attack before Odin found himself locked in a sword match with the boy.

_"So it seems that I will be your first opponent," _said Odin as he swiped at the boy with his blade before raising his shield to block a slash at him. The spirit and blonde boy clashed in a dance of sparks as their weapons collided against each other before pushing off each other to the point that they were at opposite sides of the field.

_"Your skills with the blade has gotten better," _commented Odin as he shouldered his blade. _"But let us see how good you are without Soul Calibur or Force Edge!"_

As soon as he said that, he sprinted forward at unimaginable speeds before reappearing in front of Naruto with his blade held above him in a slashing motion. The blonde boy moved to block the attack with his white blade but found that the slash was short of hitting him. However, he didn't spot the roundhouse kick and it resulted in sending him a few meters away. The impact of the kick launched Soul Calibur to another part of the field, away from the Uzumaki child.

"Nice kick sensei," said the blonde boy as he pushed himself up from the earth. "I didn't see that coming."

_"That means that you still have much to learn but now, you have a predicament in your hands," _commented the spirit. _"What are going to do without Soul Calibur?"_

Naruto knew he had a few moments to think before his sensei charged him. He knew that if he drew Force Edge, Odin would do the same thing and disarm him. There was only one thing he could use. At that moment, the lightning spirit charged at slower speeds so that his student might be able to defend himself. He was within striking distance and lashed out with his sword. He had expected the cloud of smoke that appeared but he didn't expect the blonde boy to be blocking his attack with the same scythe like weapon that he had. That moment is when Naruto struck. He was able to plant a strong kick to the spirit's chest, sending his target a few meters back.

_"So that's how it's going to be," _said Odin before readying himself. _"Show me how much you have learned. Prove to me your strength with that blade!"_

Odin struck first and he pushed the blonde to best of his capabilities. Odin knew that the blonde boy was at a disadvantage because he was stronger and Naruto lacked a shield. Every slash was blocked along with every thrust. As every minute passed, Odin pushed the blonde to fight harder. The two were caught up in their match that they didn't notice the four other spirits watching them from the tree line.

_"He's going to wear him out before we can test him," _said Exodus. _"What will we do?"_

_"Nothing," _replied Bahamut. _"But I believe that it will not happen. The two are close to finishing up and we can continue our test."_

_"How do you know?" _questioned Ares.

_"Because he's going to use that move of his. Naruto has proven to him that he is ready to begin learning the special techniques with Odin's blade. It does help him that they have been fighting each other for about half an hour."_

True to the fire spirit's words, the two were at separate field. Odin was barely panting while Naruto was gasping for air. The blonde boy was worn out from the blade match he just held from his sensei, who was looking at him.

_"Naruto, you have proven yourself to me," _commented the lightning spirit. _"You are ready to progress into the next phase. Let me show you the power that I wielded during my time_._"_

Suddenly, the clouds above started to darken ominously before rain started to fall down. Lightning and thunder soon followed before Naruto spotted his sensei glowing a bright yellow color that reminded him of his hair. He wasn't the only one looking at Odin. The other spirits were looking at him as well.

_"What is this?" _cried out Velena as the wind started to pick up in speed. _"Is this Odin's power?"_

_"This is the power he held when he was alive," _responded Bahamut as his robes fluttered with the harsh winds. _"This power was what gave him his name."_

_"What name?" _asked Ares, who had no problem with the wind.

_"He had two names with the first being the Destroyer of Corruption. The second alias was Herald of Lightning, which he got from his power of lightning."_

_"What about the first one?" _asked a curious Velena as she felt the winds slow down a little.

_"That is for him to tell you. Let us watch and witness the power of Odin, the Herald of Lightning."_

Back on the field, Odin was taking his time as he watched his blonde student regain his breathe. The spirit knew that the others also wanted to test him and he would let them after he finished. His pride as a samurai demanded a fair match and he would make sure he got it.

_"Naruto, you will learn how to use this power but it seems that my time in this form is limited from its lack of usage," _said Odin. _"Let's make a deal. If you can dodge my next attack, then I will be done and we can continue on with the test. You would only have to deal with the other four. However, if you get hit, then you will have to deal with all five of us."_

"Deal!" responded the young Namikaze as he got his blade ready. He could spot Soul Calibur a few meters away from him but he didn't know the power that Odin had.

_"Prepare yourself," _stated Odin before he stabbed his blade into the ground. _"By grace of Kami, let thunder herald my arrival with your bonds eternal and unyielding. Come forth, sunderer of falsehood."_

A circle with weird symbols appeared below Odin before circling around him. The yellowish aura glowed around the spirit and his blade before it was ripped out from the ground. Odin started to spin his weapon several times before holding it in front of him. He pulled the blade at opposite directions, causing it to split apart. Naruto's eyes dilated and ran towards Soul Calibur. He didn't know the attack but he knew that it was bad news for him if he didn't block it.

_"__**Zantetsuken**__!" _

As soon as Odin roared out the name of the attack, a bright light covered the whole field. Naruto, on the other hand, had just reached the large crystal blade just as he heard the attack. Upon instinct, he lifted Soul Calibur up to protect him as the bright light hit his eyes.

The Hokage felt the large concentration of chakra being generated within Konoha and from the looks of it, one of the training fields. He wasn't the only one to feel it. Shinobi of all ranks from Genin to Jonin felt the large mass of chakra being. The Hokage was about to head in the direction of the chakra before he was blinded with a bright light. It wasn't long after that a loud explosion erupted. The Hokage tossed out all things that were on his mind and jumped out of the window to find out what caused the explosion and the chakra usage. It didn't comfort him that he heard more explosions afterwards. Right behind him, his ANBU guards and several other patrols joined him. Their thoughts were thinking of a possible invasion or attack on the village. However, three ANBU members knew who and what was causing this.

It wouldn't be long for the group to arrive at the sight of the explosion before they found themselves staring at a completely destroyed training field. Craters littered the field while the a large amount of trees lay on the ground from being cut down. Black scorch marks were abundant in number on the ground along with puddles of water and ice. At the middle of the field stood five figures, one of them was easily identifiable to the Hokage but the other four were a mystery. He also spotted another figure standing at the edge of the field.

"Hokage-sama, is that who I think it is?" asked one of the ANBU members that followed him.

"It seems like it is, Dragon," answered Hiruzen Sarutobi. "However, I would like to know what is exactly going on here."

"Naruto is training," answered a voice beside them. The Hokage turned his head towards the voice before spotting the figure that stood at the edge of the field. It was much to his surprise when someone from the ANBU was able to identify who it was.

"Odin?" asked a voice before its source pushed through the crowd to reveal it was a purple haired member wearing a Cat mask. "What's going on here?"

_"Ah Cat, it's good to see you again," _responded Odin. _"To answer your question, we're testing Naruto to see how far he's progressed and also to see if he's ready for the next step. All I must ask you is not to interfere."_

"Wait, if you're testing him, then why aren't you in there," questioned Cat.

_"If you're here, then that means that you sensed a massive chakra spike. It was caused by both me and Naruto. The attack I used is special and required a large amount of chakra while Naruto was able to block it with a different technique. By showing to me that he could block the attack, I knew he was ready for the next phase of my lessons. All he has to do now is prove to the others he's ready."_

"What attack would warrant the usage of chakra that we felt?" questioned another shinobi within the crowd.

_"Something that I created and that only I can teach. Now, let us watch this match. I wish to see how far he has progressed in other fields."_

That statement made everyone quiet as Odin turned to watch the match. Cat stood beside the lightning spirit as she watched the blonde boy she had grown close to. Dog and Bear were able to make their way to the front of the group before standing with Cat and watching the match go on.

_'Naruto, you have grown so much,' _thought Dog. _'I know for a fact that your parents would be proud of how much you've grown. And it seems that you might have melted the Ice Princess of ANBU from how Yugao always reacts when you're around.'_

_'Wow. Naruto-kun has become stronger since his spar with Hokage-sama,' _thought Cat. _'I haven't been able to spend much time with him because of all the missions. I want to spar with him and see how much he's grown. I can't wait to see you again Naruto-kun. Wait... Naruto-kun?'_

"Let's try this again shall we?" said Naruto as he got into his stance with Soul Calibur in his hands.

_"Yes, let us continue," _rumbled Exodus. _"Odin wouldn't have us interfering his match with you. You know it is with his honor and all."_

_"But now that is over," _continued Velena. _"It's time for us to finish our test."_

_"How much have you improved gaki?" _asked Bahamut. _"Let's find out. __**Fire Release: Hades' Infernal Storm**__!"_

Bahamut reared back before releasing a torrent of flames. If anyone saw the flames, they would have automatically mistake it for Amaterasu_**, **_the black flames of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. But upon closer inspection, the flames was truly a very dark red that it was to the point it could be mistaken for black. Naruto spotted the jutsu leave his sensei's mouth before blurring through handseals at mid to high Chunin speeds.

"**Earth Release: Mud Hydra Defense**!" roared the blonde boy. The ground rumbled before turning into mud. The mud rose from the ground as a large blob before three heads appeared along with arms and wings. The mud creature's heads reared back before launching torrents of mud at the oncoming storm of dark red flames. The mud could only do so much against the flames before being hardened and turned into earth as the water was quickly evaporated from it. The flames was able to harden the mud faster than the mud could make it wet again, resulting in the hardened earth becoming ash against the intense flames. It wasn't long before the stream of flames finally overpowered the three streams of mud and blasted the mud creature itself. The flames slowly turned the mud into solid earth.

_'Damn, I still have to practice that jutsu,'_ thought Naruto as he jumped away from his spot from behind the now solid earth creature. _'They're waiting for me to make a move. Let's see if I can turn the tides a bit, especially now that Odin-sensei is out of this match.'_

_"__**Water Release: Poseidon's Wrath**__!" _called out the female water spirit and Naruto couldn't help but curse as he knew he had been careless. Everyone watched as water was pulled from the air itself before forming a large tidal wave. In the center of the wave stood a man with a trident in his hand and a leash attached to a trio of sharks in the other hand. With a savage war cry, the water figure released his hole on the sharks before waving his trident forward, launching the great wave forward.

Naruto hastily jumped away, causing the water to crash against the trees that stood behind him. In a moment's notice, they were quickly uprooted by the great wave of liquid. With his hand on Soul Calibur, the blond boy jumped off the tree was on before focusing his chakra into the blade.

"**Soul Calibur Release: Eternal Ice Ring**!"

The tip of the sword stabbed into the water before quickly turning into ice and snow. Naruto only had a moment to recover before he raised his blade to block a hammer strike from Exodus. His two hammers pounded upon his blade with everyone of his blacks. A quick palm strike to earth spirit's body pushed him a few meters away but it gave him enough time to draw one of his throwing knives to block a strike from Ares sword. Her weapon of choice was a thin blade that made it look fragile yet he knew otherwise.

_"You're getting better Naruto," _commented Ares as she blocked the blonde's strike.

_"I agree," _rumbled Exodus. _"Let's see how you deal when your are fighting four people at once."_

At that moment, Naruto turned around and blocked a strike from a broadsword using Soul Calibur. He quickly substituted himself with a log, which was sliced in half by a pair of curved blades. The blonde boy knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with any of his swords since they were too big. Soul Calibur and Force Edge felt light to him but he knew that it wasn't going to help him. With that thought, he stabbed Soul Calibur into the ground before pulling out another one of his throwing knives so he was dual wielding them.

_'I can't be aggressive,' _thought Naruto. _'They have bigger weapons. I'll have to avoid Exodus-sensei. I do have an advantage in range.'_

Naruto spotted a glint at the corner of his eyes and he was able to raise one of his knives to block it. The glint turned out to be the sun shining from one of his sensei's blades that has aimed towards him. It created an audible clang before the sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed across the field. The spectators could only watch as the young Uzumaki fought against four opponents using knives. Each blow was blocked by either group and it seemed that Naruto was finally exhausting himself after fighting four different opponents for about an hour.

_"It seems that we are about done with this match," _said Bahamut as he raised his broadsword.

_"I agree Bahamut," _stated Ares. _"Let's see how much you left, Naruto. Show us why we chose you!"_

"Fine... Here we go then!" shouted the young Uzumaki as he started to throw his throwing knives at astounding speeds all while dodging the attacks that his senseis sent his way. It wasn't much surprise when he found that his knives were either blocked or dodged.

_"Let's finish this now," _rumbled Exodus. _"__**Forbidden Earth Release: Meteor Impact**__!"_

_"__**Forbidden Water Release: Storm of Oceanus**__!" _shouted Ares.

_"__**Forbidden Fire Release: Dragonian Impact**__!" _roared Bahamut.

_"__**Forbidden Wind Release: Cyclone Cannon**__!"_

Exodus slammed both of his hammers on the ground, causing the earth to rumble once more. Earth and fallen debris started to rise from the ground before it formed a large ball. The earth spirit jumped up before slamming his hammers against the ball, launching it towards Naruto. Bahamut was immediately surrounded with purple flames that formed a set of armor and a pair of wings. With a single beat of his flaming wings, he was up in the air before charging at the blonde boy. Ares focused her chakra into a small ball that was between her hands before launching it towards the young blonde. The ball quickly turned into a column of swirling wind. Velena raised all the water on the ground of the training field before forming it into a large whirlpool. She launched it at the young Uzumaki. The four elemental attacks flew at the blonde boy, who just watched with wide eyes. A large explosion was created from the impact.

"Naruto!" shouted Cat as tears started to form in her eyes. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She wasn't usually this emotional but Naruto affected her in a way. He somehow snuck his way into her heart, melting her ice princess persona. Right now, she feared that this training incident hurt him severely.

_Mindscape_

_'W-Where am I?' _thought Naruto as he opened his eyes to see nothing. _'What's going on?'_

_"Naruto, it is time," _said a voice he knew all too well. _"You are ready. Call out my name! Unleash the power of the Paladin!"_

_Real World_

Attackers and onlookers waited attentively, waiting to find out the outcome. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Cat were hoping that his surrogate grandson/student was fine. As the smoke cleared after five minutes, a white glow became evident on the field. Naruto stood at the center, holding a blade in a defensive position. His eyes had his bloodline activated while wearing armor in a color that reminded everyone of snow. In his hand was a sword that all who had seen could remember. In his hand was Soul Calibur.

"**Soul Calibur Release**!"

The glow increased to the point that it temporarily blinded everyone and as soon as the light cleared, Naruto was seen. A white aura was seen around him and his armor changed. The shoulder plates looks like the head of dragons. Other than that, it looks completely like Bahamut's armor when he had first appeared in his mindscape. He held Soul Calibur in front of his face with both of his hands before he spoke.

"The heat of the barren desert shall not contain thou, nor the intensity of the sun and as I call upon thy name, mountains will tremble while the seas shall part and the skies shall open to thee to help the guard of Kami. Emerge from Kami's eternal peace, Siegfried, the first Paladin!"

The winds picked up while the water swirled around him. The aura engulfed Naruto's sword as he spoke. As he finished, he pulled his hands in two different directions. In each of his hands, he held a copy a sword that looks like Soul Calibur, but the blade held more of bluish glow around it.

"**Forbidden Paladin Release: Frozen Tomb of the Ancients**!"

The ground instantly froze and spread all around before the four spirits jumped away. Everything within a couple of meters was frozen completely and it didn't help that the ice was following their movements. A large storm of snow and hail started to fall down from the skies, touching the skins of his four opponents.

_'Something's not right...' _thought Exodus as he felt the coldness of the snow. _'What's with the snow?'_

Then, he felt something cold against his arms and he looked to find his arms partially frozen, trapped within a prison. Exodus looked up to find that he wasn't the only one. Velena and Ares had patches of ice against them while Bahamut was attempting to use flames to melt the ice. It was that split second of hesitant that allowed the ice to catch up to Exodus, encasing him in a prison.

_'Exodus!' _shouted Velena as she tried valiantly to dodge another attack but ended up being encased in the frozen water prison like the earth spirit. Ares and Bahamut soon followed afterwards due to them making mistakes. Naruto, on the other hand, twirled both of his blade before putting them against each other. They glowed a bright blue before merging together, returning to its previous state as a single blade. His armor dematerialized and the blonde boy fainted before any words could be spoken to him. The spirits disappeared in a cloud of white smoke while the onlookers hurried towards the unconscious boy.

_Mindscape_

"Ugh… Where am I?" asked the groggy blonde as he opened his eyes before taking a look. Around him, the walls were white along with the floors, which definitely told him that this wasn't his mindscape or a hospital.

_**"We're still in your mindscape, Naruto," **_ stated a melodious voice, making the blonde boy turn. In front of him stood a woman wearing a full white dress. Her Double D breast threatened to slide out of the top of her dress. A slit was seen at the bottom of her dress which reached to around her waist area, exposing one of her legs up to her thigh. Her hair was a mixture of blonde and white while her eyes held pureness and happiness. Her smile radiated warmth and hope.

_**"Naruto? Naruto-kun? Are you still there?" **_asked the beautiful white haired woman.

**"I believe that you broke him, Kami-sama," **growled a deep voice whom the blonde knew all too well.

"Kyuubi-san!" shouted Naruto before he realized something. "Wait... Kami-sama?"

"_**Stop with the –sama, Rei-chan!"**_cried the named Kami with irritation. _**"That makes me feel older than I have to! That applies to you also Naruto-kun. If you have to call me anything, call me Kami-chan."**_

"Ummm... I guess I'll do that," replied Naruto nervously. "But who is Rei?"

_**"Rei-chan! How could not have shown yourself to him yet?!" **_asked Kami in an accusing tone. _**"You were suppose to do it!"**_

**"But I did!" **growled out another voice that made Naruto turn to find. **"I told him my name!"**

_**"That it's a name and we both know it! Kyuubi is only a title that was bestowed upon you. Now why don't you properly introduce yourself to Naruto-kun?"**_

It was much to Naruto's surprise when the cage of the Kyuubi appeared in front of him along with the fox itself. From what he heard during the conversation, he was able to piece that Rei was the Kyuubi but he was clearly surprised when the large nine-tailed fox transformed into a woman. A beautiful woman, but still a woman. His eyes closely examined the female in front of him. She was the height of 5'11" with a dark red kimono that hugged her figure greatly. She had luminescent silky skin that was lightly tanned, coloring it almost like sand. Her hair was fiery red that reached half way down her back while she had some bangs falling in front of her heart shaped face. Naruto couldn't help but stare into her seemingly flawless face with her dark red eyes before drifting to her D-cup breasts. One thing he found very interesting were her two fox ears that rested on top of her head along with the nine tails that lightly swung back and forth behind her.

_**"Now I think you broke him, Rei-chan," **_teased the goddess, which earned her a small blush from the redhead.

"Beautiful," mumbled Naruto, which earned him a deeper blush from Rei while Kami's grin got bigger.

**"I guess you already know this, Naruto, but my name, my true name is Rei Kisaki," ** introduced Rei while she tried to calm her blush down. **"Kyuubi was a title bestowed to me by my parents."**

_**"Now why don't you to kiss and make up now?" **_suggested the white haired woman with a wink.

"But me and Rei-chan weren't arguing or anything!" cried Naruto, unknowing of his slip until it was too late.

_**"I didn't know you two were that close. He's calling you Rei-chan too," **_stated Kami, completely ignoring the blonde boy. _**"I know what you're thinking. Just do it and show him!"**_

**"What are you talking about?"**

_**"We've been friends for a while now! I can read like a book so don't you dare lie to me!"**_

"What is she talking ab-" Naruto's question was cut short by Rei as her lips captured his in a rather intimate kiss. A blush grew on both of their faces but it didn't let them stop the kiss. Naruto felt himself being drawn closer to the female Bijuu and couldn't help but accept the warm feeling he was feeling. It would be seconds later that two broke their kiss with their eyes staring into each other's.

**"I've been having this feeling, Naruto-kun. It started when I first saw you. You interested me, especially because you forgave me so easily. But it wasn't until this year that I had a feeling that I might like you," **whispered the red haired woman.

"Rei-chan... I don't want you to take this the wrong way but I don't know what to think," replied the young Uzumaki. "I just found out that you were a woman today and a beautiful one I must say. I think the best thing to do will be to allow time to pass and see if we are meant to be."

**"Thank you Naruto-kun," **said Rei before she engulfed the boy in a hug. They quickly separated when they heard sniffling, making them remember that there was someone else there with them.

_**"Such a beautiful beginning,"**_ said Kami as she dried eyes. _**"Your love story is going to be a better love story than Twilight. Most definitely."**_

"Uh…Kami-chan," asked the Namikaze, who was still very uncomfortable of calling the goddess that. "Why are you here again? And what is Twilight?"

"_**Well, Naruto-kun, you awakened the second stage of your bloodline and it called me to you as soon as you accessed the second stage of your paladin blade. And to answer your second question, Twilight is a rather... interesting romance book. I personally hold no love for it but it appears that some of my friends do."**_

"**Naruto-kun, don't you remember what your father said? To unlock the final stage of your bloodline, you need to prove yourself to Kami," **informed Rei.

"I remember that," said Naruto as he readjusted himself and knelt before the goddess of life. "What is it that you me do for you Kami-sama?"

"_**It's alright for you to call me Kami-chan, Naruto. I know that it may make you feel uncomfortable but trust me when I say that I actually prefer that you call me that. Other than that, there is nothing for you to do yet except get stronger. Once you get stronger, you will be able to do that tasks in which I have in store for you. Now I believe someone or something is trying to wake you up. I will see you next time, Na-ru-to-kun."**_

The blonde blushed immensely as Kami said the last part of the sentence with a seductive voice and he rushed out right, fading into nothing.

_**"Take care of him Rei-chan," **_said Kami as she looked at her friend. _**"Don't let go of him and be there when he needs it. He will need you, especially with what Fate and Destiny have in store for him."**_

**"I will, Kami-chan," **replied the demoness. **"And thank you for giving me this chance."**

_**"Good luck and I do hope you two do end up together in the end. Remember that I was only able to see the glimpse of one possible future. The future is always changing as it is affected by the choices we make. Your future is just as clouded as his. Be prepared for the worst."**_

On that note, the white-haired goddess vanished, leaving no trace of her being there.

_Real World_

Naruto opened his eyes to find the white confinements of a hospital. As he shifted to the side, he spotted his swords leaning against the bed post along with his clothes and other weapons. He opened the mental link to talk while he got dressed. He was fully assaulted by barrage of questions from the two female elemental spirits that lived within him.

_'Naruto-kun, are you ok?'_

_'What happened?'_

_'Why do continuously put yourself in the hospital?'_

_'Ugh. My head hurts. Can you please slow down?' _responded the blonde boy mentally, which was able to make them stop in embarrassment. _'To answer your questions in order. I feel fine Velena-sensei and I don't know why I always keep putting myself in the hospital after spars. As for your question Ares-sensei, I was able to unlock the second stage of my father's bloodline. How did I do in the spar?'_

_'You did great, hatchling. You made all of us proud with how much you've progressed. There are some things you need to work on but you exceeded our expectations of you,' stated Bahamut with pride._

'_I agree with Bahamut on that. You used one of our own moves against us and made it more powerful. You are improving. I suggest that you rest for a few days and let your clones work while you rest. Like go to the academy instead of just sending a clone to go,' suggested Velena. 'Who knows what could happen while you're there?'_

'_That is the same for me and Ares as well Naruto-kun. You have worked really hard and you deserve some rest,' _stated Velena. _'In fact, we both insist that you take rest otherwise, we might have to resort to drastic measures.'_

_'No no! I don't that is needed Velena-sensei,' _whimpered Naruto mentally as he shuddered at the two female elemental spirits could have done to him. _'Thank you senseis. For everything.'_

With that thought, Naruto closed the mental link before helping himself off the bed. He grabbed his clothes and as he was putting on, he couldn't help but think about a certain redhead female demoness within him. He was broken out of his thoughts as soon as he put Soul Calibur on his back and was about to do the same for Force Edge. He spotted the air at the corner of the room becoming blurry and distorted. With a quick thrust, he found the tip of his blade imbedded into the wall and apparently, something was caught to the tip of his sword.

A white smoke covered the area before dispersing to reveal a man with grey gravity defying hair wearing the Dog mask. Force Edge had caught the collar of his shirt.

"Kakashi-sensei, you should be more careful," warned Naruto as he pulled out Force Edge before he placed it on his back. "I could have chopped off your head."

"Sorry about that," Kakashi says as he removes his mask before picking up the book he dropped and stashing it into his pocket. "And do you really doubt my skills that much that I wouldn't be able to dodge your attack?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

"There's something I need to talk to you about Naruto," said Kakashi seriously before he placed a seal on the wall of the hospital room. "This privacy seal should serve my purpose. Anyway, I want to discuss about you, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze."

"How do you know my full name?" Naruto asked suspiciously as one of his hands grabbed the handle of Force Edge while the other grabbed one of his throwing knives on his belt.

"Because Naruto," said the man as he quickly moved towards the blonde before encasing him in a hug. "I was supposed to be your brother. Minato-sensei and Kushina-san told me that they were going to adopt me since sensei acted as a father to me when my father died. He told me what he was going to do and he asked for me to protect you and provide for you."

Kakashi had anime tears spilling on the ground as he hugged the blonde Namikaze while he said stuff like, "I'm sorry that I couldn't be with you otouto," and "I tried my best to protect you."

"It's alright," Naruto said as he pulled away. "You did all you could, aniki."

Kakashi could only eye smile as he ruffled his otouto's head.

"Well, we should head over to the Hokage's tower to let him know that you are ok," said the grey haired man as he put his mask back on before putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder. The pair disappeared in a puff of smoke before reappearing in the Hokage's office. In front of them stood two other ANBU members along with the Third Hokage. However, the ANBU members had their masks off to reveal Yugao and Yamato. The three of them were talking to each other, unaware of the two new arrivals until Kakashi let out a small cough. The three of them turned to spot the two before allowing a small smile to grace their faces as they spot the blonde boy in front of them. The Hokage activated a privacy seal before he started to talk.

"First thing, Naruto-kun," asks the Third. "Who were those four people attacking you?"

"They were the elemental spirits that train me in each of the basic elements," replies the eager blonde. "That is not including my bloodline's six releases. I thought you already knew that."

The Hokage turned to look at his three ANBU members, who were either looking sheepish or embarrassed.

"It seems that my three ANBU Captains have been forgetting to write something in their reports," said the Hokage before his mind went back to the events that had occurred. "Wait, last time I checked, there were four people fighting against you and there are five basic elemental releases."

"Well the last one was standing with us Hokage-sama," answered Yugao, interrupting Naruto before he could answer.

"Ok, that makes plenty of sense then."

"What was that with your sword?" questioned Yugao with interest. Naruto hadn't told her about his sword changing like that and it seemed to radiate more than before when it was at that form.

"That was just the second stage of my first bloodline. The second stage allows me to access the second stage of Soul Calibur's power."

"Incredible," whispered Sarutobi and all who heard him agreed before his voice turned seruous. "Anyway, Naruto-kun, I have a mission for you. I know that you are worn out but this won't require you to fight. You are going to Kumo and hand this message to the current Raikage. This message is very important and it is necessary that he gets it."

"B-But why am I the one doing this?" asked Naruto nervously. "I mean all the missions I've had so far had me stay within the village. I'm not sure about this."

"It's fine Naruto. You aren't going to be alone. You will be accompanied by Yamato-san and Kakashi-san just in case things go south."

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but didn't the Raikage try to have someone try and kidnap a Hyuuga?" asked Kakashi.

"Yes. However, after the village heard of the failure and it was done without their council's consent, the village made their current Kage at the time quit and a new one took his place. I want to make sure that this Kage doesn't hold a grudge against us or anything like that. So do you accept this mission?"

"Yes Hokage-sama, but only on one condition," responded Naruto. "My condition is that I be allowed a rest from missions for a bit so I can rest after this mission."

"I approve of that condition. Though what will do in the village?"

"My clones will work and train while I'll attend the academy for a few days instead of sending a clone."

The Hokage could only chuckle at the impact the blonde boy would have in the Academy when they witness a glimpse of his true self.

"Naruto-kun, meet Yamato and me at the Eastern Gate in 10 minutes," said Kakashi before the two shunshin away.

_10 Minutes Later_

At the front gate, the three prepared to depart. Kakashi had on Jonin attire that consisted of ANBU pants and flak jacket. He replaced his mask for a ninja headband that covered his left eye while he had on a navy blue shirt and ninja sandal along with a pair of gloves with metal plating across the knuckles. Yamato had the same thing only that instead of a headband, he had a piece of head gear which had the leaf symbol engraved into it. Naruto had on the same thing that Kakashi had only that his hand band was worn across his forehead instead. He had Soul Edge and Force Edge in an X on his back along with his shoulder armor. Two of his weapons pouches were on his belt while one was on his left thigh and another two were on his right thigh. His belt and shoulder armor had the throwing knives on them.

"Ready?" asked Yamato, receiving a pair of nods in reply before the three of them jump through the open doors of Konoha. Using chakra in their feet, the two ninjas and the ninja hopeful rush through the trees. The trio travel through the dense forests for at least an hour before Naruto suddenly stopped.

"Wait a minute," Naruto called to the two, who stopped and turned to look at the blonde. "I have a way to get to Kumo faster than walking if guys want to take it. If we do, promise me that you won't mention this to anyone other than the Hokage and Yugao-chan."

"I guess it's fine," responded Kakashi as he received a nod from Yamato. "What are you going to do?"

"This," answered Naruto as he bit his thumb, allowing the blood to run before going through several handseals. "**Summoning Jutsu**!"

Three small puffs of smoke appeared and as they disperse, three dragons were in their place. All three of them looked the same in size, which was being twice as tall as a human and several times longer from head to tail. The only difference was their color as one was a pale white, another was light blue, and the final one was a dark yellow. Yamato could only look at Naruto questioningly at his summons.

"These three are the Sky Triplets. These three are said to be the fastest of the Dragon Clan from what Bahamut-sensei told me. Yamato, you get Surge, the yellow one. Kakashi, you get Kiko, the white one, while I get Yuri, the blue one," said Naruto as he petted Yuri before looking at the three Dragon Summons. "We need to get to Kumo fast."

"Of course Naruto-sama," replied the yellow dragon. "We can get you there pretty fast if that's what you want."

Naruto nodded before climbing on top of Yuri. Yamato did the same with Surge as did Kakashi with Kiko before the three dragons flapped their large wings, lifting them off the ground.

"You might want to hold on tight," suggested Surge. The three humans complied with their suggestion before they felt a sudden increase on pressure on their bodies.

"Hold on! We're about to go faster,"called one of the Kiko_. _"How fast do you need to get to Kumo?"

"How fast can you go?" asked Kakashi nervously as he hang on for his life.

"We can make it there in at least a couple of hours but up to a day in max if we tried,"answered Surge as they flew through the blue skies.

"Shifting to turbo!"roared Yuri as her tail started to glow with a bright aura. Surge and Kiko's tails also started to glow as well before the three dragons along with their riders were launched forward at extreme speeds. The clouds parted as they passed through them as they passed over all kinds of terrain from the grasslands to the mountains and over the seas. The flight lasted several hours as they finally flew over a large amount of water while the wind battered the three shinobis' bodies. It wouldn't be long before they spotted the land in the distance.

"Lightning Country up ahead!"roared Yuki as she blasted past her two siblings. Naruto, Yamato, and Kakashi could only hold on for dear life as they flew faster, feeling as the strong winds buffeted their bodies.

_2 Hours Later_

It seemed to be a normal day in Kumogakure. The village was built into the mountains and used the clouds to help hide the village. Shinobi guard the village and tower by waiting on top platforms built on other mountains. However, it seemed that today was not going to be normal but rather the complete opposite as the Kumo shinobi watch as the clouds parted to reveal three black dots that seem to getting larger as they approached their village.

"What the hell is that?" asked one of the patrolling shinobis.

"I don't know," answered another. "I've heard that the Green Beast of Konoha can reach near impossible speeds but that is only running and in Taijutsu fights. These things are flying towards us at such speeds."

"Go warn the other patrols along with the Raikage," ordered the first shinobi. "We don't know who or what this is and I'm not taking any chances."

Up above clouds, the dragons and their riders drew closer to the village. Seeing that they were drawing near their destination, the dragons started to slow down, which eased the amount of pressure against the three males to the point that they were able to breathe easier and able to talk to each other.

"Naruto," said Yamato as he tried to fix his appearance with one hand while the other was holding onto the dragon he was riding. "It's safe to say that I'll be glad if we walked back to Konoha after this."

"I might have to agree with Yamato on this one," added Kakashi. "As much as I appreciate that we got here in less than a day, that was a bit hard for body to handle."

"It's fine," replied Naruto nonchalantly. "I probably won't be doing that for a while. That hurt me way too much than I thought it would. I need to get use to going that speed before doing that again."

"Well, it seems that we have drawn some attention to ourselves," said Kakashi as he spotted the large quantity of people on one of the platforms. "We should probably land there to make show them that we are friendly. I mean no one has seen a dragon summon ever so they could interpret it as an attack."

"I agree," stated Yamato. "Naruto, would you mind?"

"Yuri, would mind dropping us in front of the group of people on that platform over there?" asked Naruto.

"Alright Naruto," replied Yuri as she continued to slow down some more before relaying the message to her siblings.

The shinobi of Kumogakure couldn't believe at what they were saw at. Even the Raikage couldn't believe it. Three flying lizards that reminded them of dragons landed on their platform before a trio of people dropped down from behind them. Two of them look like the average Jonin except one of them stood out while the last person was a kid that looked like an 11 or 12 year old based on appearance. They were knocked out of their stupor when the three lizard-like creatures disappeared in a large cloud of smoke, indicating that they were summons. Upon closer examination, they saw that these three people were from Konoha as indicated by the leaf symbol on them.

"State your name, business, and ID," ordered a shinobi that walked forward. Yamato and Kakashi were able to spot the few members of Kumo's BOLT teams at the nearby structures. Naruto could only spot how tense the group of shinobi were, indicating that they would be ready to attack or defend at a moment's notice if things went wrong right now. At this point, Yamato walked up to the shinobi before handing him two cards. The shinobi was about to look at them before the Raikage stepped forward.

The two experienced Konoha shinobis were able to tell the similarities between the past Raikage and this new one. They held the same skin tone and the same muscular body. The two watched as the tall Raikage took the ID cards from the shinobi that Yamato handed them to.

"So Yamato, Jonin of Konoha, and Sharingan Kakashi of Konoha, how may we help you?" asked the Raikage.

"My comrade along with our charge are here to give this scroll to you," stated Yamato before handing the scroll to the Kage, who opened it before reading the contents.

"It seems that this matter is important. We will discuss this in my office. However," said the Raikage before he looked at them with interest. "I was awoken by shinobi about this possible threat to find it was just you. However, I must ask what it was that we just saw and whose summon they were."

Kakashi and Yamato could only look at Naruto as he scratched his head sheepishly. the Kumo shinobi could only look at the trio in confusion as they looked at the blonde boy they said was their charge. Naruto took this moment to speak up.

"Well, they were my summons," replied Naruto sheepishly as he continued to scratch his head.

_'A kid summoned those lizards! Just who is this kid?' _thought almost every shinobi gathered on the platform.

"That interests me greatly," said Raikage. " My name is A and I insist that the three of you spend the night here. You must be tired from your travels here. Tomorrow, we will talk."

"Thank you, Raikage-sama," responded Kakashi. The three of them followed the Kage to a building.

"Here's a place you can stay in for the night," said A. "However, I cannot leave you unguarded. I will have BOLT guarding you to protect you and also to protect my people."

"It is understandable Raikage-sama," answered Yamato. "And thank you for the quarters."

"I will see you tomorrow then."

With that said, the Raikage disappeared, leaving the Kakashi and Yamato alone with Naruto. They entered the building to find it quite similar to a standard hotel room but only for three people. Nothing was said between the three of them as they crashed onto their beds, weary from the day's travel.

_Next Day_

Naruto walked the village of Kumo, knowing that he had BOLT shinobi following him. Kakashi and Yamato had left to talk with the Raikage about things. He went around a corner before he smelt a certain smell. The smell was a delicious aroma that caused him to stop midstride and there was only one thing that could do that to. His nose followed it to its source, a stand a few meters away. There he found it in the form of a steaming bowl. It was ramen, the food of the gods and goddesses.

"Well, what would you have sonny?" asked the waiter, looking at the small kid in front of him.

"I'll take three bowls of your largest Miso Ramen," said the blonde boy. That took the waiter by surprise but he just put it in. A few minutes later, the bowls of ramen came and the waiter fully expected the blonde to not finish the food. On the other side of the stand, a blonde haired girl was eating through another plate of sushi. She took a look around the stand before spotting the blonde boy suck in the three large bowls of ramen at insane speeds. She watched as the waiter was surprised at the speeds he ate the ramen before ordering some more.

'_Nibi, did you just see that?'_ asked the blonde girl.

'_**Just ignore it kitten,'**_purred Nibi sleepily.

'_Alright'_

She blinked and saw the bowls piling up into towers and it reminded her of her sushi craving. The blonde finished by putting down another bowl and patting his stomach, signaling his satisfaction. He was completely oblivious of the crowd had gathered to watch the boy him inhale the noodles. After he paid the check, Naruto headed out of the stand and started to walk randomly, unknown of the blonde female that had started to follow him.

_Raikage's Office_

Yamato and Kakashi could only watch as the Raikage looked at the scroll in his hands. The two of them arrived there, expecting anything but the silence that the Raikage was giving them. It confused them greatly. It was until a few minutes later that the dark skinned man looked at them.

"It seems that the Third Hokage hasn't lost his touch," stated A before looking at the two Konoha shinobi in front of him. "I understand his precaution because of my father's attempt to steal the heiress of the Hyuuga clan. Do understand that my father was a great man and my ascension to the position of the Raikage was not because of what your Kage thinks. He was right when the public wanted a new Kage but something happened that day."

"A masked man, I didn't know who or what he was, had gathered an army of ten thousand creatures before the steps of Kumogakure and on that day, he knew what he had to do. For three consecutive days and nights, he fought them," continued A as he stood up from his chair. "He fought to defend the village and the people within it. He won that day but that was also when he died. The hat was passed to me because I am his son. It was how the people expressed their apology to my father."

"I'm sorry to hear about your father," said Kakashi.

"It's fine," said A as he waved it off. "I know Kumo's relationship with Konoha is strained at best but I hope to fix that. This has given me the perfect chance to do it. I have written this scroll for that sole reason. Make sure that your Hokage sees this."

"We will, Raikage-sama," responded Yamato. "Thank you for your hospitality but we should probably head back now."

"Wait," stated the Fourth Raikage. "Before you leave, I must ask you some questions. It concerns about your charge."

"What do you mean, Raikage-sama?"

"I sensed him, if only briefly. I theorized that he should be stronger than the average Genin, maybe even the average Chunin. So will answer my questions?"

Yamato and Kakashi looked at each other, silently talking about what their response should be. With a sigh, Yamato looked at the Raikage straight in the eyes.

"We should be able to answer some of your question," he replied. "However, we won't be able to answer all of them since some of them are considered classified."

"That's agreeable. I would like to know his name."

"Naruto. He's 10 years old."

"I would like to test him. One of my shinobi against him."

"Knowing Naruto, he would accept that, even without our consent. So I think that it should be fine."

"Very well, will tomorrow be acceptable? Around noon time?"

"I believe so," said Kakashi. "We got here faster than we thought so it wouldn't hurt for us to stay here one more day."

_With Naruto_

Naruto had drifted throughout the whole village with his blonde follower behind him. Unfortunately, they hadn't been noticing the area they were walking through and they ended up at the border of the red light district, a place with large amounts of criminal activity. Unknown to the blonde female, several thugs had appeared from the shadows behind her. Another group appeared in front of the blonde boy. They all had sneers plastered on their faces as the group behind the blonde girl grabbed her wrists and pushed her against the wall. When she hit the wall, Naruto turned and saw her. Her eyes were filled with fear at what they would do to her. She was just an academy student, a strong academy student about to graduate, but still an academy student. She wasn't strong enough to deal with this many thugs. She was about to ask Nibi for help but what happened next, occurred so fast that she didn't need to.

"Give us your money Blondie and nobody gets hurt," sneered one of the thugs that had been standing in front of Naruto. "Or else that blonde over there is going to have some fun with us."

After processing in that last sentence, his eyes narrowed before forming a fist. He saw the blonde female's eyes widen and he knew what he had to do.

"You should never have said that," said Naruto coldly. "Now you must pay the price."

The blonde boy vanished in a blur, only to reappear right front of the thug holding the girl. He slammed his fist into his gut, launching him several meters before quickly drawing one of his throwing knives from his shoulder sheathe to block the metal pipe aimed for him. With a grunt, he kicked that aggressor away before turning to punch another. His mind soon went into autopilot as he blocked, punched, and kicked. Soon, he was cornered with the female as the thugs surrounded him.

"You're pretty good kid," stated one of the thugs. "But it's hopeless now. We've got you surrounded and since you've given us a fight. We'll make sure to let you live long enough to watch as we have fun with your girlfriend before we kill her as well."

That was all Naruto had to hear. He could feel his blood boil and his eyes turned red as he drew another knife.

"Over my dead body."

With that Naruto threw the first knife, before he used the second one to stab it into the arm of a thug. He then pulled it out before stabbing it into the thugs throat, puncturing the jugular vein. The thrown knife flew faster than the thug could react as it stabbed itself between the eyes of the thug, effectively killing him. Naruto continued on as he killed another handful of thugs by slicing their throats or by throwing knives into their hearts or brains. The number of thugs decreased as each one died by the blonde boy's blades before only five remain. They were quickly dispatched when seven figures appeared out of nowhere. Naruto felt his rage and adrenaline die down before his memories of his actions reached him. His eyes dilated at thought that he had just killed people before his eyes drifted to the puddle of blood and the crowd of bodies that liter the floor. With that, Naruto threw up on top of one of the bodies.

Yamato moved towards the blonde boy before rubbing his back. He was the same way when he first killed someone. However, he had killed when he was much older. Naruto needed somebody.

"Naruto? Are you ok?" whispered Yamato as he continued to rub the back of the blonde boy, who was almost in tears.

"Sensei, I-I killed people," replied Naruto softly as he sniffled. "W-What am I suppose to d-do?"

"Yugito-san told us what happened, Naruto. You did what you had to do otherwise it would have been you that's dead."

"S-Sensei..."

"Naruto?"

"..."

"Say something Naruto."

"Am I a murderer? A killer?"

"You aren't a murderer, Naruto. Trust me," responded Yamato, waving Kakashi and A towards him. "I've seen plenty of murderers in my time and you aren't one."

"B-But I k-killed them..."

"But it wasn't in cold blood," stated Kakashi as he placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You killed them in order to keep both you and the Raikage's niece safe."

"Naruto? It's me, A, the Raikage," said A as he kneeled by the blonde. "I offer you my thanks. You saved my niece. She told me what happened and what could have happened to her if you hadn't done what you did. I know this is hard for you, especially for someone your age."

Naruto could only look at the tall, dark skinned Kage with scared and tear filled eyes. A took that moment to look into his eyes to know what he was scared of. He was afraid that he would get use to killing, that he would like killing.

"Naruto, I know what's going on in your head right now. You're afraid," stated the Raikage. "You're afraid of getting use to killing to the point where it just becomes another kill. Let me offer you some advice during my time as a shinobi on the field. It's true that you get accustomed to the killing. However, we as shinobi must find a reason to draw our blades and take a life."

"I-I..."

"You had to draw your blade and take people's lives today, yes?"

"Y-Yes..."

"Find your reason. Why did you draw your blade? Why did you have to kill them?"

"I-I drew it to protect. T-They were going to k-kill us and I-I snapped..."

"That's your reason why to had to kill. You did it to protect not just you but those who were being threatened."

Naruto could only ponder at what the Raikage told him. His thoughts were interrupted when Yugito moved from her position behind A and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you Naruto. Thank you for protecting me."

With that, the blonde girl scurried away with A in tow. A sent them a wave before the two Konoha shinobi started to walk to their temporary housing in Kumo. They led the blonde boy to his room but it worried the two shinobi since he stayed silent the whole time. As soon as he entered his room and laid on his bed, the two of them left to talk.

"What do you think, Kakashi?" asked Yamato.

"Raikage-sama provided him some good advice," replied Kakashi. "He's probably thinking about it."

_Mindscape_

Naruto found himself within the confines of his mindscape as soon as he entered his slumber. His eyes spotted the glowing symbols of each element above him while seven figures stood in front of him. Velena and Ares quickly engulfed in a hug, whispering comforting words to him. Exodus, Bahamut, and Odin watched from behind them while concern filled their eyes.

_"Naruto, how are you holding up?" _asked Velena softly.

"I-I don't know, sensei," answered Naruto softly.

_"The advice that the Raikage gave you was a good one," _stated Odin. _"We had hoped that it would be a few more years before you had to make a kill but we didn't expect this arise. You did the right thing kid."_

"How is it the right thing?" asked Naruto. "I just killed! I just murdered someone!"

_"Who was it you killed hatchling?" _asked Bahamut. _"Think about it. They wanted to hurt you and would have done unspeakable things to that girl you were with. Such people were the ones I hunted down during my time in the living. I know for a fact that Exodus did the same thing! Those kind of people don't deserve to be called humans but rather trash. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"_

"I think so..." answered Naruto slowly as he looked into his senseis' eyes.

_**"I will not lie to you, Naruto," **_said Nightmare. _**"You will have to kill more as time continues on and it will be up to you to develop how to cope with it. It is part of your job as a shinobi and more so now that you belong to the Paladins and the Berserkers."**_

_"If it were a perfect world, we would be able to deal with our problems through talking," _said Ares with a sigh. _"However, it is just a deram."_

_"There is some positive in all of this,"_ stated Siegfried. _"You have had your first kill. Know that killing won't be easier to you mentally but doing it will be simpler for you. I guess this will be a better time to tell you but there will be times when it is killed or be killed. You will have to kill otherwise you are dead."_

_"If you ever need help coping, we will always be here for you," _whispered Velena. _"However, it seems that you are needed to by your comrades. The one with gravity defying hair is trying to wake you."_

"Thank you," said Naruto. "All of you."

"Naruto? Naruto? Wake up," said Kakashi as he shook the blonde boy. "It's already past ten."

Kakashi just watched the young Uzumaki stir from his continuous shaking. He couldn't help but sigh as he tried to find out other methods to wake him up. He then remembered something Kushina-san did in order to wake up Minato-sensei. With an evil smirk hidden under his mask, he leaned close to Naruto's ear.

"Naruto! Your ramen was spilled on the kitchen floor!" cried the older shinobi, which earned him a jolt as the blonde boy jumped up from his bed with tremendous speed.

"Holy ramen! I will save you!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he barreled down the stairs, unknown that Kakashi was snickering at his actions. Downstairs, Yamato could watch as a blonde blur sped past him towards the kitchen before he heard a sigh. Yamato couldn't help but let curiosity take over as he walked towards the boy with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Naruto? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Kakashi-sensei told me that ramen was spilt here!" replied Naruto. "But there's no ramen here..."

"Naruto, I think Kakashi just tricked you. Most likely to get you up."

Yamato could only chuckle at the sight of Naruto's gaping mouth at the prospect of being tricked. He listened as the boy swore revenge using interesting methods and techniques. However, a thought wandered into the ANBU captain's mind.

"Naruto," interrupted Yamato, earning him the boy's attention. "How are you holding up?"

"I don't know sensei," answered Naruto honestly. "The people I've talked to helped but it doesn't make it easier..."

"It's good that it doesn't make it easier. It's what makes sure that you have a sense of humanity and that you aren't a machine. I know you've been told this already but know that you don't always have to kill," said Yamato. "On another topic, the Raikage wants to test you."

"Why?"

"I don't know kid but I would strongly advice that you do it. It would help show our strength to Kumo along with our desire to be friends. I know for a fact that A respects not only those with great strength but also those who use their strength wisely for the right reasons."

"When is it and where?"

"He said around noon time so you better get ready," said another voice, which alerted Yamato and Naruto of the new person's presence. It turned out to be Kakashi, who was looking at them with an eye smile.

Noon approached quickly for the trio as they found themselves standing at the edge of the training field along with a large quantity of the Kumo shinobi force. Along this group were Kumo's academy students. One of these students was a blonde haired girl with exceptionally large breasts for her age while another was a black skinned female with red hair. On the other side of the blonde was a boy with a sucker in his mouth. Yugito was there as well as she watched the empty field with confusion.

"So what's going on Yugito?" asked the large breast girl.

"I don't know Samui. It would probably have to do with the shinobi from Konoha that arrived two days ago," answered Yugito as she spotted her blonde savior.

"So what is Konoha doing here?" asked the red haired girl.

"Maybe they're here for revenge for what we did and they came here to get retribution. Or maybe they're here to...," started the male with the sucker only to be stopped as the red haired girl whacked him upside the head.

"Shut up Omoi!" she growled as Omoi rubbed his head. They were stopped as the Raikage appeared in the middle of the field.

"We are gathered here today to issue a test to the charge of Konoha, young Naruto," stated the muscular Kage. "As you know, Kumo only accepts strong alliances that would cause mutual benefits and that is what I believe when I agreed to make the alliance with Konoha. Naruto here may look young but I feel his strength. Therefore, his test will be administered by... me"

At this, some members of the shinobi force could only chuckle as they whispered things about how the blonde boy was going to fail epically, especially because he was young and at the age where he would be an academy student. However, Yugito, A, Yamato, and Kakashi knew different.

"Is Raikage-sama actually going to do this?" asked the red haired girl. "He could kill the boy."

"Karui, I believe that there is more to him that meets the eye," stated Samui. "Whatever happens, this is going to be a cool match."

"Let's get this test started," said A. "Naruto of Konoha, step forward and identify yourself."

"I am Naruto of Konoha," stated the blonde as he stepped forward. The Raikage nodded at him with approval before the two walked away from the observers. Yamato took this moment to produce a notebook along with a pen.

"Show me your strength. Prove it to them," stated A as he pointed at the crowd. "**Lightning Release: Lightning Stream**!"

Electricity started to charge in the palm of the Kage's hand before it launched towards the boy. Naruto did nothing, which surprised everyone, until the last second. In a quick blur, he jabbed his right arm forward with his pointer and middle finger aimed right at the center of lightning. It quickly struck him.

"Naruto!" called Yugito in worry, which earned her looks from her friends.

"Don't worry about him," answered a voice, which Yugito was able to recognize as Kakashi. "He knows what he's doing. You might be surprised at what he's going to do."

Much to the statement, Naruto continued to absorb the electricity until it ended. He then crossed his arms above his chest before taking a deep breath and thrusting his left arm forward with his pointer and middle finger aimed at the Raikage. It greatly surprised him when the lightning the boy had absorbed shot back at him at twice the speed. He was able to dodge the attack, causing it impact the earth behind him.

"Interesting defense," muttered A before speaking out loud. "Let's see how your Taijutsu is!"

He quickly disappeared in a blur. Naruto knew that the Kage was going slower just to test him before disappearing in a blur. The tow of them met in the middle as they matched blow for blow. It ended after Naruto was able to nail a quick jab to the large man's solar plexus before sending the Raikage back with a kick to the diaphragm.

"Not bad kid," said the Kage. "Let's see how strong your Ninjutsu is! **Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon**!"

A extended his hands out top the sides as they crackled with electricity before slapping them together. It sent a wave of blue electricity that transformed into the shape of a twisting dragon as it flew towards the blonde boy. Naruto, on the other hand, drew Soul Calibur into his hand before stabbing it into the ground as he felt the familiar energy of Holy Chakra following through him.

"**Soul Calibur Release: Eclipse of the Blue Moon**!"

White energy surged from the blade before it expelled it in a massive wave that clashed with the lightning dragon. The two attacks explode, causing electricity to be sent towards a wall, burning it completely, while shards of ice imbedded itself into the ground several feet away from A. Those watching could only watch in shock as the child from Konoha showed more strength than an average Chunin. Hell, he could have been as strong as one of their Jonin's from how strong he was. No one spoke with the only sounds coming from the field and the scratching of the pen on paper.

"That was an A-rank jutsu you just matched," commented the lightning shadow. "Let's take it up a rank shall we? **Lightning Release: Dragon of Darkness**!"

"Well, since you pulled out an S-rank, I guess I should do the something stronger," replied Naruto. "**Earth Release: Mud Hydra Defense**!"

The clouds darkened as a dark dragon made out black and white lightning descended from the black clouds. The beast had three heads, each let out a fierce roar. In front of Naruto, a large mound of mud started to rise before it grew six heads. Then, the arms followed with a pair of large wings before the tail. The hydra was as tall as the Kage Tower, if not taller. Naruto took a knee and panted a little as the Hydra lumbered forward.

"My Kami…" whispered Yugito. The other Cloud ninjas just gulp down in fear as the six heads roared at the black three headed dragon of lightning. Taking that as the signal, the six heads started to fire a hail of mud balls while the dragon ascended into the skies. As, quickly as it ascended, it make its descent towards the lumbering earth beast. The storm of mud struck the dragon and pounded it mercilessly until one of its lightning head was ripped off. After more strikes from the relentless assault, the other head was torn right off. The remaining of the dragon charged at full speed and fully rammed into the six headed beast's body, creating a large explosion.

"**Wind Release: Great Breakthrough**!"

The winds blew away the black smog, revealing a damaged but still standing hydra with its six heads still moving. Naruto was still kneeling, panting from the amount of chakra he had just used while A stood.

"Naruto of Konoha, you have proven your strength," stated the Raikage. "I hereby declare this test over. Kumo of shinobi, return to your post."

The shinobi of Kumo left but they were still talking about the power that the boy held. No doubt that to spread the word of the strength of Konoha.

"As Raikage, I offer you a few more days of stay here in Kumo. I am sure that Yugito would love to have Naruto's company and introduce him to her friends."

"Thank you Raikage-sama for your generosity. I believe we will have to take you up on that offer since Naruto here seems to be worn out."

_A Few Days Later - Kumo Gate_

"I guess it's time to go," said Naruto. In front of him was Yugito, Samui, Karui, Omoi, and A. During his time in Kumo, he spent more time with Yugito and eventually, all of her friends.

"We'll miss you Naruto-kun," said Yugito with a pout before she moved forward, grabbing the blonde before locking lips with him. This caught the boy off guard as he was kissed for the second time within a few days interval. This however, opened up a link to Rei, who was watching him. Her thoughts were getting more inappropriate as she thought of Nibi and her container joining the fun with her. She had a blush on her face and it only got darker as Samui kissed the boy as well.

_Hokage's Office_

The travel back to Konoha was anything but exciting. The trio entered the Hokage's office to found the old man working on a small pile of papers.

"Welcome home. I hope your trip was interesting," greeted the Third.

"It was Oji-san and I got to meet the niece of the Raikage along with some of their friends," replied Naruto.

"Not to mention that he seemed to getting close with two females from Kumo," added Kakashi with an eye smile. "It seems that Naruto is becoming a player. I'm so proud of him."

Naruto could only blush at the statement while he heard the snickers from the inhabitants of the seal along with the occupants of the room. The blonde boy could only punch his brother figure in retaliation.

"Well, with that said I would like for Yamato-san to give the report. You can go home and continue training Naruto-kun," said the Third Hokage, which earned him a nod from the blonde boy as he left in a swirl of wind.

_At the Forest of Death Compound_

Naruto arrived at the compound well into the afternoon as he prepared himself some food. He knew that Kakashi and Yamato would arrive later and Yugao would follow later after she finished her duties in the HQ. His thoughts were proven true as the two male shinobi appeared about an hour after he had arrived while the purple haired ANBU captain appeared soon after them. It was much to his surprise when Snake/Anko appeared as well. The two of them rarely saw each other and it was much surprise when they saw the other in the compound.

The four of them had taken to living with the blonde boy and nothing could separate them, especially Naruto and Kakashi. It was to the point where Naruto was able to convince the shinobi to stop reading Icha Icha in public and that a piece of literature was probably nothing compared to the real thing. IT did help that the two had a talk that left Kakashi very fearful and scared of his life. He was still late to meeting but it only about an hour instead of the normal two to three hours. From that day forward Naruto got respect from every Jonin and ANBU member for changing Kakashi. The kunoichi even thanked Naruto with some kisses for getting Kakashi to stop reading Icha Icha in public and it caused my dismay to the book stores since the man was a valuable customer through his purchases of books.

However, the two spent their times together training, helping each other improve in several areas. For example, his skills in seals had improved drastically. They were increasing in value as the demands for the seals increased to the point that the places he sold them to were running out daily. He had to have clones make seals everyday in order to fulfill the supply request and it did help his bank account increase in size. He was good with seals but he knew what he needed. He required a Fuinjutsu Master, someone like Jiraiya of the Sannin to help him get better.

Naruto continued his physical training, especially because of the power he felt from his test with the Raikage. That man held so much power in his Taijutsu and it astounded the blonde the amount of control he had. Naruto aspired to have the strength the Kage had and to help him with that, he developed his own course within the forest. He even incorporated parkour and free running into his training to the point he was rarely on the streets but rather on the rooftops when he traveled through the village. He used weights and some of the resistance seals in his father's notes to help him.

The blonde's chakra control improved greatly because of the resistance sea, which made it harder for him especially since he wore weights. He had to use chakra control every day since he didn't want to leave small dents where ever he walked because of his weight. This helped him improve his abilities with tree walking and water walking to the point that he started to incorporate it into his daily Taijutsu training as he fought on water. Sometimes, he would merge the leaf exercise with one of the two methods to make things a little harder for him.

His skills in Ninjutsu drastically improved thanks to the knowledge of jutsus that the elemental spirits and the spirits of the swords taught him. His skills were great but they weren't the best. He had a wide variety of jutsus for all of the basic elements with a few S-ranks. They required a large amount of chakra for him, even with his chakra control. Regarding his jutsus with his swords and his bloodline, he had a few more jutsus than last time as he continued to practice his usage of Holy and Chaos chakra. Yet something that helped him was that he was able to get some jutsus down to the point where they required little to no handseals or had no need of vocalization.

In his Taijutsu, he has improved vastly because of his constant usage of the Elemental Fist through his constant practice but the only way he knew to improve now was to find a Taijutsu master. Naruto remembered that Kakashi had told him of one such person but he didn't know where to find him. All of his stances were at the Intermediate Stage and he couldn't progress any further because of his lack of help.

His Genjutsu skills have improved greatly ever since he activated his eye bloodline. However, he still has trouble with weaving and using Genjutsus as they don't his fighting style. It didn't help that Ares and Velena push him to learn the art just in case he needed to use it. However, he still lacked the skills to match the skills of the Uchiha's when they use their Sharingan in conjugation with Genjutsu. He even heard of the mythical Genjutsu of the Uchiha's called Tsukuyomi.

During these months, Naruto found himself receiving harder infiltration missions as the security he was asked to improve was now tested against him. He sometimes spent days planning an infiltration of a clan compound. These missions were now A-rank and S-rank but they did help the village harder to get into.

At Training Field 43, an abandoned field because of its close proximity to the Forest of Death. On this field stood two people, a masked man with gravity defying grey hair while the other was a boy with spiky blonde hair. The sun beat down upon them from its highest point as they faced each other. They watched each other, waiting for a signal. It came in the form of a simple breeze as it blew away a dandelion that stood proudly in between them. As the last of the seeds flew away, the two jump backwards.

"Ready Kakashi-Nii san?" asked the young boy as he watched as the man blurred through seals.

"**Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Flower**!" called out Kakashi, spitting out several basketball sized fireballs. Naruto just rolled away , letting the balls of fire explode as it made contact with the trees and the earth. The blonde boy flipped through several handseals as he dodged the incoming hail of fireballs.

"**Water Release: Water Fang Bullet**!"

Several blobs of water shot out from the boy's mouth before impacting the incoming storm of flames. The collision created a mass of steam, blinding both combatants. Kakashi took this moment to fly through seals to launch a powerful attack.

"**Fire Release: Titan's Outrage**!"

The man took in a large breath of air before exhaling it all. He released a large firestorm that was blue in color, burning everything in its path. Naruto's eyes widened a little bit and he jumped backwards to escape the flames before flowing through several stances. At the end, he slapped his hands together before thrusting it towards the raging blue flames. The flames consumed him quickly but it was split in half by the blonde boy, leaving him unharmed.

"You've gotten better, Naruto," complemented Kakashi as he assumed his stance.

"Thanks Nii-san," replied Naruto before he got into his stance. "Let's se how you do against this!"

Naruto thrust a fist towards his brother figure, launching a storm of flames before he stomped on the ground, launching a large boulder in the air. He kicked the stone, launching it towards Kakashi. Kakashi did he knew best as he dodged and weaved through the flames before jumping over the large stone boulder. He then quickly closed the distance between him and the blonde boy, grabbing his arm as he was about to release another storm of flames. Kakashi angled his arm upwards, resulting in the blonde Uzumaki to release his flames into the sky. The two proceeded to fight each other with fists and feet. They matched each kick, jab, and strike before Kakashi was able to land a kick to Naruto's chest, pushing him backwards.

"Take this!" shouted Naruto as he waved his hand in the air before firing a wave of lightning. Kakashi just flew through handseals as he watched the attack near him.

"**Earth Release: Mud Encampment Wall**!" called Kakashi before he spat out a stream of mud. The mud formed a large wall before quickly hardening, forming a defensive barrier. The lightning strike couldn't do anything, causing minimal damage to the wall.

"Hey Naruto," called Kakashi. "Let's end this with bang. **Lightning Edge**!""

Naruto smirked as he spots the veteran ninja made three seals before holding his arm out. His hand started to glow blue before it was completely encased in it. Blue electricity started top fly from it, forming an electrical circle around him. The blonde flew through a few seals before holding out the opposite hand.

"**Storm Edge**!"

Wind encased the blonde boy's arm before a blade of wind extended from it in contrast to the sparks of electricity. Kakashi was surprised by the jutsu and couldn't help but feel proud of the boy.

"When did you make that jutsu, Naruto?" asked Kakashi as he let out a small chuckle.

"Well, it started when I spotted you using it when you were training in the ANBU HQ a few years ago. It got me thinking and I thought why don't I make a jutsu like Nii-san's and **Storm Edge** is the result. It took some help from my senseis and a lot of clones but I was able to perfect it a few weeks ago. What made it hard was the wind blade I added. It confused me for bit until Ares-sensei helped me out on that," responded Naruto.

"Well, I can truly say that you will become an amazing shinobi in the future, Naruto," stated Kakashi before he held out his lightning encased hand. "Now let's see which is more powerful: wind or lightning?"

With that said, the two break out in a dash towards each other before they thrust their encased hands at each other. The two elements clashed against each other as the wind blade struck the ball of lightning in a devastating dead lock. Neither would give in as they pumped more chakra into their respectful attacks. It caused a chakra spike that drew the attention of nearby shinobi, including Yugao, Yamato, and the Third Hokage. They arrived to see the power struggle between the two jutsus and their users. It was evident to them that Naruto was going to tire out first as his face was drenched with sweat as he continued to push more chakra into his blade of wind.

The two didn't expect for their jutsus to overload from the mass amount of chakra being pumped into them. It resulted in the two of them being sent flying at opposite directions of the field while an explosion rocked the earth. A large cloud of smoke and dust filled the air before settling down to reveal a large crater three meters deep and ten meters wide. The shinobi onlookers could only gap at the power that the two revealed. The Hokage had other things he was worried about.

"NARUTO! KAKASHI!" he shouted but found no evidence of the two other than the left over debris from the attack, causing him to look at his shinobi. "I want two groups. Yamato, you will lead the first group and you will find Kakashi. Yugao, you will lead the other group and find Naruto. Bring both of them to the hospital when you find them! Go!"

The two groups jumped in different directions to search for the two. After several minutes of searching, Naruto was found first. He was under several trees that had fallen on top of him. His arm was bleeding while he supported several cuts all over his body. Kakashi was found minutes later with him in the same condition as the young boy. Both had passed out due to blood loss and immediately taken to the hospital.

_Four days later in the hospital_

Naruto and Kakashi found themselves lying in the same room, bandaged up from head to toe with holes for their eyes, nose, and mouths. Naruto knew he was fully healed but Yugao wouldn't have any of it and forced him to stay with Kakashi in the hospital. Right now, the two found themselves talking about their different jutsus.

"**Lightning Edge **is a power jutsu," stated Kakashi. "People think it's an assassination jutsu but it makes too much noise to be a true one. Yours is a true assassination jutsu, silent and deadly."

"Really?" asked Naruto. "What did Jiji tell you about it?"

"Well, he told me that the jutsu is an S-rank because it is like I said, a true assassination jutsu. You should be proud for making such a jutsu."

"Thanks Nii-san."

"Now if we can only get you two to stop pushing your limits," said a voice. Naruto and Kakashi turned to find Yugao looking at them with irritation. She had her hair back, tied in a ponytail while she wore her ANBU armor with the exception of her mask.

"Have you two learned your lesson about overcharging a jutsu?" she asked, which earned her nods from the two. "Good. Now Naruto, I must say that the jutsu you used was amazing. Truly impressive. By the way, do you know what day it is today?"

"I don't know," answered the boy after he thought for a few seconds. Kakashi just gave him an eye smile while Yugao walked towards him with a gentle smile on her face.

"Happy birthday Naruto," she whispered as she pulled out a scroll from her pouch and handed it to him. "Rest up. You'll be released from the hospital tomorrow. Both of you."

Naruto just smiled at the female ANBU member with a smile before closing his eyes, allowing slumber to take him. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to bring him a new day. Unknown to him, the events about to happen will affect his life greatly.

**Naruto Uzumaki**

**Age: 11**

**Sex: Male**

**Birthday: October 10th**

**Blood Type: O**

**Skills:**

_Sealing = High Journeyman to low Expert ( He's progressed through this field quite quickly, especially because of his parent's notes. However, most of the notes are theory based and requires someone who understands the theory. That would mean that this skill will slowly progress until he comes in contact with a seals master)_

_Stealth = Mid ANBU (Infiltration missions have forced him to train up his stealth to greater heights, especially the locations which he is required to infiltrate like the ANBU HQ and the Hokage's Tower)_

_Reflexes = Low Jonin_

_Speed = High Jonin (Required to outrun pursuing shinobi after pranks and infiltration missions along with the increase in training)_

_Strength = Low to Mid Jonin _

_Chakra Sensing = High Genin _

_Kenjutsu = Single Wield: Expert, Dual Wield: Journeyman, Dual-sided blade: Journeyman_

_Ninjutsu = Mid Jonin (A large arsenal of elemental jutsus that range in ranking. He also knows quite a bit of non-elemental jutsus and a few more of his bloodline jutsus)_

_Genjutsu = Low Chunin (He has started to learn how to use it, especially because of the activation of his eye bloodline but finds a lack of motive to push for more improvement since it doesn't fit his combat style.)_

_Taijutsu = High Chunin (He's reached the Intermediate stage of the stances but requires the assistance of a Taijutsu Master like Maito Gai.)_

_Chakra Capacity = High ANBU_

_Intelligence (Strategist and Tactician) = N/A_

_Medical Jutsu/Antidotes and Salves = __ High Chunin (His high chakra control has helped him be able to be able to practice some of the jutsus in this field. He has a large array of antidotes and salves from the herbs he had planted in the garden near the house in the forest.)_

_Poison Creation/Concocting = High Chunin (Increased in correlation of antidotes and salves through the usage of herbs and snake poisons. ANBU agent Snake assists him in the field of poison because of her usage of snakes. He also started to use poisonous plants in conjugation with the snake poison to make stronger poisons.)_

_Weapon forging/repairing = Journeyman (Understands the basics and is able to forge weapons and pieces of armor that aren't complex to smith. Requires the help of Master in order to progress further.)_

**Missions:**

_S-ranked - 8 (Hokage Tower infiltration missions)_

_A-ranked - 34 (the ANBU HQ and major Clan Compound Infiltration missions)_

_B-ranked – 21 (Minor Clan Compound Infiltration missions), 1 (Diplomatic)_

_C-ranked – 47 (Inside the village C-ranks)_

_D-ranked – 239 (Used Clones to do the jobs)_

**A/N: Thank you for reading. AS for the poll, the answer will be given to you faithful readers soon. So stay tuned for the next chapter. Here's a sneak peek of what will come:**

"How can I help you, Dragon?" asked the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I think it's time," said Dragon.

"Are you sure? I mean He's powerful but are you sure about this?"

"I'm positive Hokage-sama. It's time for him to become one of them and before you say anything, I know that you believe in him. And if what the reports have been saying, he is ready."

"Promise me that you will take care of him."

"I will Hokage-sama. I will take care of Naruto, mark my words as the ANBU Commander."

**Anyway, stay tuned. Have fun.**

**Shadow**


	6. Chapter 6: A Normal, Average Year--Maybe

Chapter 6: A Normal, Average Year... Maybe

**A/N: Hello readers. I'm sorry about being AFK for a long period of time. Some of the personal problems that had developed over the past few years have finally been cleared and now, I can write as much as I can without hurting my schooling. However, I will try my best to make it up to you all by writing these chapters for you to enjoy. **

**Also, please feel free to read my second story. It is a Halo fanfiction if any of you are interested. **

**And as for reviews, please keep on doing so. No one truly understands how much it means when someone, like me, tells you that you did a good job and that you should keep on writing. Anyway, here's the story and the usual disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the bloodlines and a few of the jutsus. Enjoy!**

_Previously on Fate of One: The Elements_

_"Happy birthday Naruto," she whispered as she pulled out a scroll from her pouch and handed it to him. "Rest up. You'll be released from the hospital tomorrow. Both of you."_

_Naruto just smiled at the female ANBU member with a smile before closing his eyes, allowing slumber to take him. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to bring him a new day. Unknown to him, the events about to happen will affect his life greatly._

_Start of Chapter 6_

The light entered the white room, illuminating the whole room. Rays from the sun tickled the blonde's eyes as his eyelids slowly opened, resulting in him have to squint in order to have some form of vision. His hands flew in front of his eyes, covering and protecting them from the light before his hands rubbed them. As his hands left his eyes, his vision started to clear and became less irritant to the light. Before long, he was able to clearly see everything around him and much to his amusement, the first thing he spotted was his brother sprawled on his bed while a bubble was present nose. His ears heard the soft yet melodious songs of the birds as they sang it for the world. The fresh scent of the dew on the plants hit his nose as he took a deep breath in before moving himself so that he was sitting up on the bed.

The blonde boy slowly got up from his position before he reached for his clothes. They were folded up neatly on the bedside table. He took off his hospital gown before putting on his mesh shirt and ANBU pants. Next was a blue long sleeve shirt with a mask like Kakashi's, however, he didn't pull up the mask. Rather, he just let it sit around his collar. His pouches, belt, and shoulder armor followed afterwards with them being attached to their respected places. Finally, his hooded cloak colored white that covered his top and arms. His hands slipped on a pair of gloves while his feet slipped on his boots.

With him fully dressed, the boy walked over to his brother's bed before releasing a large yawn. He was about to wake him up when he spotted a cup of water on the nearby bedside table. With a sinister grin, he took the cup and poured out its contents on the sleeping man's face. The results were instantaneous as he shot up with his one good eye wide open.

"Ah, that's cold!" he cried out as the water trickled down his body before his eye spotted a blonde boy snickering at his misfortune, "Naruto! I should have know it was you! What was that for?"

"My amusement and your wake up call," responded the boy as he continued to chuckle. "We get out of this forsaken place today, remember?"

"Ah of course. But was the water really necessary?"

"Yes. Anyway, I'm off. I'm going to go see Jiji. See you later, Kakashi-Nii san."

"I'll see at the house then. Have fun."

Naruto grabbed his two large blades from their resting place before placing them in their normal X position on his back. He also grabbed a pair of scrolls that had his name written on them and placed them in one of his many pouches. He waved goodbye to the grey haired man before jumping out of the nearest window. His feet made impact with the tiles of the room before he dashed towards the Hokage's tower. His surroundings became more clear to him as he examined the city while he passed them. A large amount of people were walking through the streets, entering and exiting stores. The smell of fresh food along with the sounds of chatter from the villagers filled his senses as he continued his way to the large red tower that proudly stood in the center of the village. It didn't take him long to reach the tower as he entered it through a window the led him to the secretary room.

"Hey gaki," spoke a voice behind him, causing the boy to turn and spot a female wearing a Snake mask.

"Hi Snake-chan! What's up?" he asked as he waved towards the female.

"Nothing much. I did see the destruction that you and Kakashi caused during that clash you two had a few days. How are you holding up?"

"Pretty good though my body is still a little sore since I've been forced to stay in bed for days on end," replied Naruto while he stretched his back a little.

"It's better that you did stay there the extra days," said the female ANBU with a chuckle. "If you didn't, I'm pretty sure Cat would have done something to make sure that you do stay there."

"W-Would she really do that?" asked the blonde worriedly.

"Knowing how worried she gets when you get hurt, I wouldn't doubt it."

"Then I'm glad that I listened to her. Is Jiji busy right now?"

"It depends what you call busy," snorted Snake before looking at the closed doors of the office. "Most of the time, he's using his clones to do the paperwork while he reads that orange book of his while giggling like a school girl. However, he's currently in a serious meeting with the elders. It must be serious since he asked the ANBU to leave."

"Well, I've got to talk to him. It's probably more urgent than some meeting with other old people."

Naruto moved towards the door and kicked the door before anyone could stop him. His foot connected with the wooden door, causing it break open, unknown to him that he had broken the seal that encased the room. The four occupants just looked at the boy with a mixture surprise, disgust, and anger. Naruto was able to get a quick glimpse of the people before they berated him for interrupting. The Hokage was behind his desk with a mask of surprise and seriousness on his face while on the other side of the wooden furniture stood three old people wearing loose black and white robes. Two of them were the same but the third one was different from the rest. He had his arm in his robes, acting as a sling while his right eye was bandaged. His hair was still a dark black when compared to the others occupants, who all had grey hair as a sign of their age.

"What are you doing here, _boy_?" asked the only female. "This is a meeting of the elders with the Hokage. Therefore, you shouldn't be here."

"I need to talk to Hokage-sama about something important," answered the boy, opting to use respect this time.

"You obviously lack manners. Did _your parents _forget to teach you any?" sneered the old woman, waiting for a simple slip up.

"Silence Koharu!" roared the Kage with furiousness at the jab the woman made to the boy. "That is enough!"

"Fine! But you still haven't answered us as to why you placed him in the academy anyway? More specifically, why did you put him in the one with all the clan heirs in it? They're starting their third year by now. That _boy_ is just going to join in without having to go through the first and second year? Preposterous."

"I did so because I wanted to. Naruto has shown his desire to become a shinobi and has shown to me that he deserves to be with those students. Do you wish to continue to question the Hokage's intentions, Koharu?"

"Of course not, Hokage-sama," replied one of the old men before the female could respond. "We will be on our way then."

The three walked out through the broken door but not before Koharu gave Naruto a glare that was concealed from the old Fire Shadow. As soon as the three were out of hearing distance, the old Sarutobi released a sigh as he rubbed his temple and lowered his posture. He gave the blonde a small smile before he made his clones to help deal with the paperwork. Naruto walked forward before plopping down on the chair in front of the desk.

"How are you doing Jiji?"

"Better now," replied the old man. "How about you? You and Kakashi did some serious damage to each other during that battle that you two had."

"I'm fine and Kakashi-Nii should already be out of the hospital by now. Who were those three people?"

"They are the village elders. Koharu Utatane is the only female while Danzo Shimura is the one with the bandages. The last one is Homura Mitokado. Homura and Koharu were part of team back in the day when we were being taught by Tobirama-sensei. I'm sorry for how Koharu was acting towards you, Naruto."

"It's fine Jiji," replied the blonde with a shrug. "Anyway, what's this about the academy?"

"You're going to attend the academy," stated the old man before raising his hand to stop the blonde from speaking. "I know what you're going to say but you have to attend the academy to become a shinobi. I know that with your skills you could become a Genin, maybe a Chunin but you lack experience on the field. However, that doesn't mean that you will be slacking off in class. I expect much from you."

"I won't let you down Jiji," said the boy with a smile. "Does that mean that my missions will have to stop?"

"No. You will still be able to do your missions and you can also continue your regular training during the academy. Just make sure that you have some sort of leader to control them while you're away," answered the Kage before taking a piece of parchment and handing it the blonde. "You need to hand this to the head teacher of the class. His name is Iruka."

With a nod, Naruto stood up ready to leave before he heard the old Kage call his name. The boy turned to look at the old man who had something in his grasp

"Naruto, I forget to mention this to you," he said. "Don't show Force Edge or Soul Calibur in the academy. I also don't recommend that you use your advance elemental jutsus and infusing chakra into your taijutsu. It will cause more problems for both you and me. Anyway, this is for you," said the old man as he handed the item in his hand to the boy. It was long, around four and half feet long in length and wrapped in a red cloth tied with a white piece of string. Naruto looked at the elder Sarutobi, who gave him a nod before pulling the string. The cloth unrolled to reveal a handle and scabbard.

"This was a gift from my sensei to me during one of my birthdays. I tried to use it but found that it didn't fit my style of combat so I kept it until I thought I found someone to use it. I believe you will be able to use it to the best of its capabilities."

Naruto couldn't help but look at the sword that laid on his hands before his hand slowly held the handle and pulled it out. The blade itself was solid black in color, devoid of any reflection, able to blend into the shadows.

"It's a double-sided katana made from a strange metal that my sensei found. Think of this as my late birthday present to you."

Naruto sheathed the blade before giving the old man a hug as he continuously muttered his thanks. Unknown to the both of them that the occupants of the secretary's room had seen the whole interaction. One of the occupants was a man wearing a mask much like other ANBU members and his gaze was directed at the blonde boy that Hiruzen favored.

"You better go Naruto," said the old man gently. "I'll see you soon and then we can talk some more."

Naruto nodded before exiting the office with his new sword in hand. Hiruzen couldn't help but smile as he watched the boy walk down the main street through his office window. It wasn't until he heard someone clearing their throat. He turned to find a masked man looking at him.

"What can I do for you Dragon? asked the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I think it's time," said Dragon.

"Are you sure? Are you really sure about this?"

"I'm positive Hokage-sama. It's time for him to become one of them and before you say anything, I know that you believe in him. From what I just saw and from what the reports I receive say, he's ready."

"Promise me that you will take care of him."

"I will Hokage-sama. Mark my words as the ANBU commander."

_With Naruto_

Naruto had just left the Forest of Death. He had taken into account the old man's words as he sealed away both Force Edge and Soul Calibur into a seal on the palms of his gloves. However, he slung the black katana on his back. When he was inside the forest, he called forth his clones for his normal training in his various skills. That was when he left to head for the academy, not knowing what to expect of his class. It was rather easy to find as it was rather large, comprising of several buildings while it displayed a giant sign with the kanji for 'Fire". With a deep sigh, the blonde boy entered the building. He was greeted to the sight of a female attendant sitting behind a desk. She was quick to notice him and flashed him a smile.

"Hello, how may I help you, young man?" she asked nicely.

"Umm... I'm looking for Iruka Umino's classroom. I'm a new student in his class," said the blonde boy.

"His classroom is on the second floor and his room number is 231 so it should be close to the end of the building. The stairs is around the corner," she said as she pointed at the corner. "And have a good day."

"Thank you," replied the young Uzumaki before he rounded the corner and climbed the stairs to the second floor. He could hear the sounds of chatter from each classroom that he passed until he spotted the room numbers.

_'227... 228... 229... 230... Ah 231,'_ thought the blonde as he tried to mentally prepare himself. _'Show time.'_

Naruto pulled his hood up to cover his blonde hair before pulling up his mask to the point that it covered most of his face, effectively hiding his whisker marks, nose, and mouth. With a sigh, he opened the door.

Iruka knew that he was in over his head when he was assigned to teach these students. He had learned to regret quitting ANBU but he felt he had a calling in teaching, helping these children get a grasp of the basics before they went out in the world. He was brought out of his thoughts as he heard the loud sounds of screeching. However, he spotted a figure dressed in white and couldn't help feel confused.

"Iruka Umino?" asked the white covered person.

"I am he," replied the scarred man. "How may I help you?"

The former ANBU was just handed a note before his eyes widened a little as he read it. He looked at the person before looking back at the note. Then, he turned to the rest of the class.

"Class... Class?" he said, trying to get their attention unsuccessfully. "Class!"

All attempts were all for naught as the class grew a little more louder, tuning out their teacher until a harsh banshee whistle pierced the air. It effectively silenced everyone and drew their attention to the whistler, a person cloaked with a white jacket and black pants. Iruka took this as moment to make his announcement.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to a new student in this class," he said before gesturing to the whistler. "This is Naruto Uzumaki."

Murmurs erupted from the class as the hooded boy moved towards them. Much of them were from civilian females in the class as they looked at a potential target of their love. Naruto, however, wasn't affected by the stares of the class and moved towards an empty seat at a row in the middle of the room.

"Wait! How could you just get into this class?" asked a certain pinked hair girl loudly. "If anything, you should be in the lower classes!"

"Sakura, be quiet!" scolded Iruka as he looked at the girl before turning to look at the hooded boy with an apologetic look.

"It's fine, Iruka-sensei," responded Naruto with a wave of his hand before looking at the pink haired female. "The reason I'm here is because Hokage-sama said that I was strong enough to be in this class."

"I don't believe that," growled a boy with black hair shaped in a duck's butt. "I doubt you're that strong compared to the might of the Uchiha clan! I should be the one to skill classes! Not some nobody!"

"Sasuke! That's enough!" ordered Iruka, scolding the boy. "It is the Hokage's wish for him to be included in this class and if you want to become part of this village's shinobi system, then you will have to learn that you cannot deny the wishes of the Hokage."

"Whatever," muttered the boy.

"Anyway, Naruto, why don't you take the seat in the middle, right beside Shikamaru Nara," said the teacher as he pointed out the sea beside a boy who's head was laid against the desk. The blonde boy went over to his seat and sat down, earning him a look from his fellow student.

"So troublesome..." mumbled the boy, gaining Naruto's attention.

"What is?" he asked.

"You. Sasuke is going to do everything he can to establish himself as the best and right now, that is currently you."

"How so?"

"You have the Hokage's favor and you were allowed to skip two years of the academy when we all had to go through them. So troublesome..."

"So watch out for Sasuke then?"

"I guess..."

"Naruto! Since you found that conversing with Shikamaru was more important than my lesson, would you mind telling me what are the names of the major shinobi villages?" asked Iruka, clearly annoyed.

"Before or after the Shinobi wars?"

"What's the difference, dobe?" challenged the pink haired banshee. "Everyone knows that there are only five major shinobi villages."

"Currently," answered Naruto. "Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure are the other villages with Konoha. However, before the Shinobi Wars, there was another major shinobi village called Uzushiogakure, the Village Hidden by the Whirling Tides."

"If they were so great, then why don't they exist right now?" sneered the Uchiha. "They must have been weak and quickly destroyed during the wars."

"Depends what your definition of quickly destroyed is. They were attacked and destroyed because of the threat they posed during the Shinobi Wars and the survivors of the village are scattered everywhere. However, they were anything but weak. It took a combined force of Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri along with several other smaller villages to defeat the shinobi of Uzushio. While most of their populace was wiped out, the aggressors also endured massive casualties, losing more than seventy-five percent of their forces."

"Then why haven't we ever heard of this village before? And how do we know that this is all true?"

"Sasuke, this is all true," stated Iruka as he looked at his class. "Konoha integrated the symbol of Uzushio onto our uniforms like flak jackets and in the village emblem in order to honor their memory. They were feared because of their skills in Fuinjutsu, the Art of Sealing, along with their Kenjutsu and Suiton jutsus. It made would have made them the Sixth Major Shinobi Nation if they still were around. And the reason why they aren't mentioned is because it is still a sour topic amongst the villages."

Silence was the response from the class before Iruka cleared his throat in order to gain their attention. Sasuke was glaring at the young Uzumaki for showing him up, deciding to show him his place during the spars.

"Anyway, thank you for an interesting history lesson Mr. Uzumaki. Now, please follow Mizuki out to the training field for Taijutsu practice."

The students filed out of the room with Sasuke leading them and a large quantity of the girls following right behind him in tow. Naruto followed from the rear with the resident pineapple haired boy. They all quickly reached the field and lined up on the sidelines while Iruka and Mizuki stood, facing them.

"Since this is the beginning of the year, we will be holding a Taijutsu only tournament to see where you are with your classmates," announced the teacher before picking up two slips of paper. "No ninjutsu and genjutsu are allowed, however, weapons are. First up is Hinata Hyuuga versus Ami Mori."

A girl with dark navy blue hair stepped up to the field. She had on a tan heavy coat with a pair of ANBU pants and ninja sandals. Her eyes held no pupils as she looked at her opponent while her body took a stance. Ami was black haired fan girl who had a crush on the current top ranking ninja in the class.

"Set, Hajime!" called the Chunin, jumping back towards the other side of the field.

"Byakugan!" called Hinata, causing veins to erupt around her eyes. Ami just rushed forward to strike the Hyuuga but it resulted in her being pushed back by a strong palm thrust.

"You're a disgrace to all Kunoichi," shouted Hinata as she charged towards the fan girl with a palm poised to strike. "You're are in my field of divination! **Eight Divination: Thirty Two Palms**!"

The blue haired girl let loose a torrent of palm strikes on the fan girl, before finishing with a final thrust to the stomach area and pushing her backwards.

"You used a jutsu!" she yelled. "Sensei, she should be disqualified!"

"That was a jutsu alright," replied Hinata as she rushed towards the staggering girl. "But it is a Taijutsu move, commonly used n the Hyuuga Clan's Gentle Fist."

Ami couldn't do anything as she was struck with a palm strike and propelled across the field, landing in a heap on the ground. Iruka helped her off the field while Hinata walked towards the white clad blonde.

"So how did I do, Naruto-Nii san?" she asked, which was responded with a hug from the boy.

"You did great, Hinata-chan. You showed her!"

"Weaklings belong together, don't they?" sneered the pink haired banshee. She was quickly interrupted as Mizuki called out the next match.

"Sakura Haruno versus..."

"I'll beat whoever I'm going to fight!" she screeched out with her fist high in the air.

"...Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto stepped on to the field, opposite to where the pick haired female stood. Sakura just stared at the blonde boy, deciding to her past experience with the boy as a way to win this so she could be with her beloved 'Sasuke-kun'.

"Naruto-kun," she said with a smile on her face, completely different from her previous emotions. "If you forfeit for me, I'll go out with you."

The crowd could only gap at the actions of Sakura, questioning her motives. Hinata knew the events that occurred between the pink haired female and her Nii san that led him saving her from several bullies several years ago. It made her sick to think that this delusional fan girl thought that she had her wrapped around her finger.

_'Naruto-Nii san, show her who you really are,' _thought Hinata as she smiled. _'Show her the real Naruto Uzumaki.'_

Naruto just moved forward towards the scarred Chunin and gestured for him to lend him an ear. Iruka did just that as the blonde whispered into his ears. The Chunin's eyes widened and as soon as the blonde finished, he looked at him seriously before nodding. The young Uzumaki returned to his spot before putting his hands into a ram seal.

"**Release**!" The air behind him rippled before the hilt of sword appeared. The handle had a combination of black and red markings on it. Naruto grabbed the handle before nodding to Iruka.

"Sakura Haruno versus Naruto Uzumaki. Weapons are allowed in this spar," he stated before moving back. "Hajime!"

"You know what I think of your request, Sakura?" he asked the girl as she took out a pair of kunais from her pouch. "I think that I should take it... and toss it in the trash where it belongs."

As he said that, he drew the blade from his back, revealing itself in its dull black glory as the sound of it being drawn pierced the air around it. The blade gleamed in the sunlight, waiting to bathe in the blood of his master's enemies, and it drew the attention of a certain black haired boy.

_'Remember what I've learned,' _thought Naruto as his eyes narrowed. _'No need for stupid mistakes, just precise and accurate.'_

On the other side of the field, Sakura had accumulated eight kunais in her hands and proceeded to throw them all at the hooded boy. To some of the other students, they were going at pretty decent speeds, but to some people, they were going slow compared to higher ranked kunoichis. However, to Naruto, they were going at a snail's pace because of the harsh training he went through and he was quickly able to raise his blade from his side to deflect each one of the kunais. Sakura saw this and started to throw every weapon from her pouch, but it was to no avail as each was deflected with ease. Naruto had moved forward during the cascade of metal objects and when she finally ran out of projectiles to throw, he was several feet away from her.

"Give up Sakura," he said as he moved closer to her, his hand clutching his sword tighter. Sakura raised her hand without a word, signifying her desire to forfeit. Naruto sheathed his blade and nodded to Iruka, who declared him the winner. The students who had watched were amazed at the grace and speed that the blonde had as he deflected each weapon that the pink haired girl threw.

"You are a disgrace to kunoichi, Sakura," he stated to her as he moved to the sidelines, his back turned to her. "You believe that your precious knight in shining armor will always come to save you whenever you're in danger. That's not how the real world works. Especially in our line of work."

_'He's just jealous that he's not as amazing as Sasuke-kun. He'll beat this loser, no problem. He'll be my knight,' _she thought angrily before charging towards him. Naruto felt her chakra signature coming towards him and did the most logical thing to do, turn and fight. He blocked the first attack with his forearm before using her momentum to offset her balance with a tug. It proved effective as she was sent directly into the ground with the only thing was her pride.

Naruto barely made it the stands before he was confronted with the Uchiha glaring holes into him. His aura of arrogance was truly great and Naruto had a feeling he knew what was about to happen.

"Dobe, I demand that you give me your sword. Only someone like me can bring it out its true potential," declared Sasuke with a smirk.

"And what makes you believe that you should get this from me?" retorted the blonde boy as he glared at the arrogant boy.

"The Uchiha are the best clan in world, there is no one greater than the Uchiha clan. This village should be glad that they are here, otherwise it would be a weak, worthless village."

"Your arrogance annoy me," said Naruto before he spotted Iruka, who was finishing up the match between Choji Akamichi and Kiba Inuzuka. "Iruka-sensei, can we do this now? Teme over here is pissing me off."

"Uhh... Sure thing, Naruto," replied the scarred Chunin as he motioned for both of them to move towards the field. The fan girls started to cheer for Sasuke to win, declaring that 'no one is better than him', while the others silently decided to side with Naruto, knowing that he would be able to knock the Uchiha's oversized ego down to size.

"Hear that dove, they are clearly cheering for the obvious winner of this match," he sneered. "Just give up and save yourself the embarrassment of being put down. Give those weapons to their rightful owner."

Naruto's eyes just narrowed as watched Sasuke's hands go into his weapons pouch.

_**'Naruto?'**_

_'Rei-chan?'_

_**'Naruto, teach this brat a lesson.'**_

_'But Rei-chan...'_

_**'But nothing, this piece of trash needs to be taught a lesson and needs to be shown where he belongs. Your sensei's are allowing you to use some of your abilities to... take out the trash.'**_

Naruto's eyes widened at the prospective and let a grin emerge from his face. It was time to give them a show.

_'__**Now go Naruto and show them who you really are. Show them how dangerous a fox can be.'**_

"Naruto, are you ready?" asked Iruka, who received a nod. "Hajime!"

As soon as he jumped away, Sasuke, quickly took the offensive, releasing a storm of projectiles before wielding a pair in reverse grip. As the projectiles flew towards the blonde, he quickly disappeared from view, leaving no trace of him being there except the dust in the wind.

"Where is he?!"

"He probably ran away because of Sasuke's awesome abilities!"

"See? No can beat Sasuke-kun!"

The first was what the question that was asked by many of the observers with sane and functional minds while the latter two were stated and cheered by the fan girls who were letting their infatuation ruin their shinobi careers. However, that was all silenced when all of the projectiles were split in half, the pieces tumbling into the ground. Naruto reappeared, this time, his black blade was drawn, which he stabbed into the ground beside him

"Is this all that the great Uchiha is capable of?" he asked loud enough for all to hear and earning him a furious Uchiha, who started to charge towards him. Naruto just lets out a sigh as he vanishes again before reappearing in front of his opponent with his fist cocked back. This stuns the black haired Uchiha and it was enough time for Naruto to launch his punch into his gut. The force was so great that it lifted him from the ground and Naruto didn't let up as he followed up with another punch. This time, it connected with the face and it sent Sasuke flying a few feet into a brick wall, knocking him out.

"He isn't even worth my time," stated Naruto as he pulled his blade from the ground and placing it back in its scabbard, not even noting the shouts from the audience.

"Sensei, he clearly cheated!" shouted one of the fan girls, several others agreeing with her as they shout their disapproval of the results. "No one can beat Sasuke-kun."

"Enough!" shouted Iruka as he used his **Demon Head Jutsu** after having heard enough of the shouting. "Naruto clearly won! He was able to punch Sasuke out of the arena, which is an automatic ring out. Also, Sasuke was knocked out-"

"No!" shouted a voice, which revealed to be the Uchiha himself. "I will not lose to some nobody!"

He then proceeded to go through a series of hand seals at mid Genin speeds before Iruka was able to stop him.

"**Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu**!"

Sasuke took in a breathe before exhaling, launching a ball of fire that was around 3 feet in diameter. It roared towards the blonde boy, who just stood there before the flames engulfed him. Sasuke watched in satisfaction as the boy was consumed by the flames. Sasuke just watched with a knowing smirk as he watched his opponent burn. On the sidelines, the fan girls cheered in knowing that their 'Sasuke-kun' had won the match.

"Enough!" shouted Iruka. "Sasuke, you have been disqualified for using two separate ninjutsu based techniques in a strict taijutsu only spar! Yes, I saw that you used the **Replacement Jutsu**. You're coming with me to see the Hokage!"

As soon as that was said, yells of protests erupted from the crowd of fan girls as they try and defend their beloved crush from persecution with illogical reasons such as stating that there was no jutsu used but rather the radiation of his awesomeness that created the fireball. While everyone else questioned the mentally of these people, they all stopped when they heard a scream of surprise as one of the students pointed at the flames that had engulfed the blonde boy. It was at that point that Naruto stepped out of the flames, unharmed, and brushed the ash that sat on his shoulder.

"How did you survive?" yelled the Uchiha in rage. "You should be dead!"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out," replied the Uzumaki as he drew his black blade. "Now, I believe it's my turn."

Naruto pointed his blade at the Uchiha before disappearing in a blur and reappearing several feet away from him. With a smirk, Naruto slowly sheathes his blade and as the audible click of his hilt touching the scabbard is heard, Sasuke collapses on the ground. The damage done to the boy was evident through the multiple red spots and small cuts that littered his body. While none were lethal, the mass amount of them appearing all at once caused him to take a knee as tried his hardest to keep from crying out in pain.

_'How was that, Rei-chan?' _he asked as he opened the mental link between them.

_**'Good, but you could have done better,'**_ she stated. _**'You could have ended this in one move. Instead, you had to go and show off, nearly getting yourself hurt because of it. True shinobi cannot be show offs, that's what get them killed. They are suppose to go in, take out their target quickly. and then get out.'**_

_'Of course Rei-chan. I won't do it again. By the way, where are the others?'_

_**'They are with the clones you left, helping them train in elemental jutsus and such.'**_

_'Ok, I'll visit you later then.'_

_**'Very well.'**_

Naruto just shook his head to clear his thoughts before he spotted that everyone was still looking at him with either glares or smirks while Iruka had a subtle smile on his face.

"Can someone please take Sasuke to the hospital please?" he asked the class before having to resort to pointing to two random

_Time Skip_

The rest of the day held nothing noteworthy for Naruto as he walked towards the Hokage's tower. It was mostly things that he had already learned and mastered during his training with his senseis like the twelve handseals for jutsus, the definition of the basic arts that a shinobi would use during their career, and the importance of teamwork. Other than that, some of his fellow classmates came up to him to congratulate him for beating the Uchiha. Overall, a pretty boring day in the Academy. He continued to wonder and ponder until he spotted someone he all too well, a female ANBU operative with a Snake mask. She was twirling a kunai on her pointer finger before she spotted the blonde a few feet away from her.

"Hey there, gaki," she said with a smile. "How was the first day in the Academy?"

"Ok, I guess."

"I heard what happened and honestly, I expected things to go south really fast. You here to the Hokage, right?"

"I expected the same thing and of course!" stated the blonde with a smile. "He needs some of me in his day, otherwise it would be too bland and boring!"

Snake could only chuckle in satisfaction at his response before heading to the door that separated the two rooms, completely ignoring the looks that the secretary were giving them. The doors were opened to reveal the Hokage with a content smile plastered on his face while his desk was clean of only paperwork. However, there were other copies of him going through small stacks of paper.

"Hey jiji!" greeted the blonde with a smile.

"Ah Naruto," replied the old Hokage as he gave him a bright smile. "How was your day?"

"It was ok, I guess," he answered back while scratching the back of his head. "We had a lecture and a practice... spar. I faced off against a Sakura Haruno and a Sasuke Uchiha. They weren't really that strong."

"Naruto, you're going to be leaps and bounds stronger than your fellow academy students because of all the training that you've done. While you've been training, they've been studying history and theory," mentioned the Sarutobi. "And they don't have the amount of teachers that you do who are pushing you to become strong."

"I guess that's true. But Sasuke was a major prick. I don't like him Jiji."

"You won't like everyone you meet Naruto, that's the reality of life. All you can do is to accept that."

"I guess so..."

"So Naruto, I had a rather interesting talk with Kakashi about your spar that partially destroyed part of a training field and left both of you in rather severe condition."

"I had a feeling that Kakashi-nii told you about it then," said the blonde boy with a sigh. "I had seen aniki use his Lightning Edge quite a bit of times when we where training and with the help of my senseis, we were able to develop it. It's hard to control though... They mentioned something about shape manipulation and how difficult it is but I don't know what that is. Do you Jiji?"

All the Hokage could do was look in shock at the blonde boy. He had somehow created a jutsu based of an ANBU Captain and whose jutsu required a combination of both elemental manipulation and shape manipulation. The ANBU stationed around the office could only look at the boy in wonder. The boy they were looking at was able to make a jutsu that was akin to one of their Captains. However, they were all brought out of their musings as another ANBU member walked in, spotting the blonde boy.

"Hey Naru-chan," greeted the new arrival, making the boy turn to see the Cat mask on the ANBU. He couldn't help but smile as soon as he saw her.

"Kitty-chan!" he cried out, giving her a hug and ignoring the small chuckles that seem to fill the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I came by to tell you that you still need to spar with me later. I want to see how good you've gotten since the last time we've sparred," she replied while giving him a smile.

"How about tomorrow, in the afternoon after the Academy?"

"I'll need to check my schedule but I'm pretty sure that I'm clear for tomorrow," she said, smiling as the blonde cheered.

"If you're still in the Academy," stated a Snake masked ANBU member, ignoring the look from the Hokage. "I'll become your sensei so that i can more fun with Naru-chan!"

"Well, Snake-san," interrupted the Third as he watched the two high five. "You do realize that you will have to be a Jonin to be a **Jonin **-sensei, right?"

The purple haired woman could only chuckle in embarrassment while scratching the back of her head. It almost reminded everyone of how Naruto acted but they were all interrupted as someone entered the office.

"Hokage-sama," he said. "I've been sent by Tsume-sama and Hiashi-sama to inform you that the council has been gathered to talk about something regarding Fugaku-sama's son. They are trying to hold it off so that you can get there but it was barely holding when I left. I suggest you hurry."

Hiruzen was normally a calm and collected man but the council has been pushing him to the brink and he was close to losing it soon. He looked towards his ANBU before giving them a nod. They all vanished from their spots, heading towards the council chamber.

"Naruto, I have a feeling that this will involve you," he stated. "You don't have to go with me-"

"If it involves me, Jiji, then I want to be there," he answered with conviction. "I have a feeling it's about the spar that I had with Sasuke earlier."

"Very well but if they break any law, and more specifically, the law concerning about you in particular, I give you the permission to enact the punishment. My ANBU will be there to help you if things go beyond our control."

With that, the pair walked towards the chambers and started to mentally prepare themselves for the storm that was about to come.

_Council Chamber_

The chambers were filled with shouting members as the civilian council were shouting at each other and occasionally at a ninja member. At the center of the room, Sasuke Uchiha along with his father, Fugaku Uchiha, stood waiting for the final members to arrive. A large boom echoed along the room and the source came from the door. They bulged slightly open only to fall back into place before pulsing out again with another boom. It continued until the center of the door broke, causing the door to bang against the walls from the opening. The opening revealed Naruto Uzumaki with the Third Hokage right beside him. Silence reigned for a few minutes as the old Kage walked to his seat and it seemed that order was restored within the room.

"So, I recently just heard that the council had called a meeting without notifying me," he stated nonchalantly with a little bit of irritation. "Now. I would normally be fine with this but I was in the middle of something important. So there better be a good reason why this was called."

"We have heard from our sources that a _Naruto Uzumaki_ possesses a weapon that belonged to Uchiha-sama," said a civilian council member, stating the blonde boy's name in disdain. "We have also learned that he has skills that-"

"What weapon would this be?" questioned the Hokage with slight interest and irritation, having a feeling that he would know what the blade was.

"It is a blade katana," stated Sasuke with conviction. "That dobe took it from me."

Murmurs soon filled the chamber and the only people silent was the Hokage, his ANBU guard, Naruto, and majority of the Shinobi council. That is until the Nara head decided to speak.

"This meeting is just troublesome," he said with a sigh. "Hokage-sama, I have a feeling you know what they are talking about."

"Indeed, I do, Naruto, will you draw your blade," ordered the Hokage before the blonde pulled out the solid black katana from its scabbard. "This is the blade that you are claiming to be yours."

"It is the rightful property of the Uchiha!" he stated.

"You would lie in my face, Sasuke. That blade is not yours," the Hokage said with a chuckle. "In fact, it truly belongs to Naruto."

This caused a roar of disagreement at that statement as they looked at the Hokage for further explanation.

"Sarutobi, you didn't-" started Koharu in shock.

"Yes, I gave it to him."

"You would give sensei's blade to him of all people?" shouted the woman. "He would be disappointed in your actions."

"No, you have no right to say what Tobirama-sensei would have done," replied the Third in anger. "In fact, I would believe that he would approve of my action. He was a firm believer of the Will of Fire and passing his blade to someone who has it in spades would be something he would have done."

"Dobe, that blade will be mine," said Sasuke as he made to grab it, only to pull his hand away from said weapon from chopping it off. "You almost cut my hand off!"

This sent everyone to a frenzied state as the civilian council started to call for his death. Naruto could only tighten his hold on his weapon as they started to call him 'Demon' and 'Monster'. He could only look towards the Hokage, who gave him a nod. He could only watch as the ANBU stationed around the room appeared with weapons drawn.

"Enough!" roared the old man. "This meeting was just a waste of not just mine but also my fellow members in the ninja council. You based these claims on hearsay from the young Uchiha. I warn you once, do this again and there will be consequences. So what will do with your complaint, Uchiha?"

"We retract it," stated the elder Uchiha as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger. "Now, if you would excuse my son and I. We have to talk and I still have work to manage the police."

At that point, everyone started to leave from the chambers with the exception of the shinobi council, minus the Uchiha head. They just looked at the boy with smiles on their face as they are reminded of a certain blonde several years ago. The silence was broken by Tsume Inuzuka, the Matriarch of the Inuzuka clan, as she placed her feet on the table.

"Ah! The silence," she stated rather loudly. "They were always way to loud for my taste and too much of a pain for my ass."

"This whole thing is troublesome," stated Shikaku Nara, the head of the Nara clan, as he raised his hand. "The civilian members will be more trouble now. They'll probably try to convince the populace to spite Naruto even more based on their twisted truths."

"I agree with Shikaku," added a blonde man that sat right beside him. "But know that you will have the support of the Yamanaka clan. If you ever need anything, we'll do anything we can to help."

"The Akimichi clan supports you as well," said a rather large man with red armor on the other side of the Nara head. The three just nodded at their course of action before looking at the remaining members. Tsume just showed a thumbs up with one her hands while the other just ruffled the head of Kuromaru's head.

"The Inuzuka clan supports you," she stated with a feral grin.

"I just realized that Hiashi isn't here anymore," observed the Third, noticing the missing member. "He probably had something important to attend. Anyway, I believe that you promised Miss Uzuki a spar, Naruto."

"But that's tomorrow," countered the young blonde with a whine in his voice. The Third just gave him a smile before raising his hand and showing a hand sign that no one had seen before. Before any could expect anything, a blur jumped from the corner with a blade drawn. Naruto was able to spot the attacker from the corner of his eye and getting his blade into the right position to block the incoming strike. He was able to stop the strike and had a chance to observe his attacker. Whoever it was, they were wearing full black up to the neck before a mask covered the lower part of the face. However, Naruto was able to spot the long purple hair that flowed behind them.

_'Who has purple hair?'_ he thought to himself as he jumped away from the person with his weapon ready.

_**'**_**Well, there is that Anko woman,****' **mentioned Rei through their link. **'It could also be-'**

"**Water Release: Water Fang Bullet**!"

Bullets of water shot out from the attacker's mouth, aimed for the blonde boy, forcing him to break his link with his tenant. The liquid balls made impact with the floor and Naruto was forced to jump away from the rest of the incoming projectiles. It took him a few seconds to recognize that he was standing at the middle of the chambers.

_'I need to get them out of here,'_ he thought as his hands flashed through a large quantity of hand seals. _'Let's hope this works.'_

"**Earth Kinjutsu Release: Terra Port**!" cried the blonde as he slammed into the wet wooden floor. It started to glow a bright light, blinding everyone for several seconds and it took a few more for them to regain their vision. They were quite surprised to find themselves at random field, rather than the council chambers a few seconds before. The sounds of the rustling trees and the running water from a nearby stream was enough to convince them that they weren't anywhere near the Hokage Tower. The stunned council members could only watch as a blonde boy jumped away from a barrage of shurikens originating from the purple haired attacker. They were wise enough to jump away to prevent getting hit from stray attacks.

"How did we get here?" asked a bewildered Inoichi.

"This is troublesome," stated Shikaku as he rubbed his forehead. "Naruto teleported us all here."

"You're telling me that the pup brought us all from the chambers?" asked a surprised Tsume. "How is he not worn out from that?"

"If you look closely, you would see that he is," pointed out the elderly Hokage. "From what I can assume, the rather large area he had to cover along with the fact that he included all of us drained a lot out of him. He's not as tight as he normally is on his forms and he's panting rather heavily."

The clan heads had turned to look and found that the observations that the Third made were true. His stance was starting to show some openings and his movements were slowing down gradually.

_'Dang it! If they aren't interfering, that means that this is test of some sorts,'_ thought Naruto as he mentally slapped himself. _'That Kinjutsu used up quite a lot of my reserves, much more than I hoped it would have. Looks like I'll have to resort on using it.'_

Naruto could only jump away as he dodged an oncoming attack before slamming his hands in a Ram seal. A blue aura started to cover his being before it released a small shockwave. Naruto could only grin as he tightened his grip on his black blade. He twirled it once before focusing the blue aura to cover it.

"Let's do this!" he shouted as he flared his chakra. "**One Sword Style: Crescent Rise**!"

He charged forward with his blade lowered, preparing for an upward slash. The blade itself was coursing with blue as Naruto continued to pump more chakra into it before he swung it upwards, releasing a large wave. It traveled fast as it flew across the field in a matter of seconds, leaving a trench in the ground. His attacker could only dodge the massive attack and wasn't expected to find that Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Up here!" stated a voice up above, causing all eyes to avert into the sky to find Naruto hovering with his blade charged with more chakra. "**One Sword Style: Lunar Descent**!"

He quickly descended with blade pointing downwards towards the ground. As soon as the blade slammed into the ground, it shot another pulse of blue chakra, creating another trench in the ground before making impact and splitting a tree. Naruto could only groan in disappointment as he had hoped that it would have finished by now and he wasn't disappointed to see his attacker standing off to another side of the field. He quickly found that whoever it was, they were tiring and it was showing as their body was slowly rising and falling.

"**Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet**!"shouted his attacker as a large amount of water rose up and formed something akin to a dragon and launched towards him. Everyone could watch as Naruto gritted his teeth before sheathing his blade. His arms, both covered in white bandages from the palm to the elbow, extended out as he watched the water dragon fly towards him.

"Naruto!"

"**Storm-Phoenix Double Blade Combination**!" he shouted as chakra flared from the palms of his extended arms. Wind started to pick up and coat around his left arm, forming a familiar blade that originated around his knuckles. The chakra around his right arm turned into flames, coating his right arm completely with a second blade just as long as the other one appearing. Everyone could just watch in awe as they developed into the long elemental blades.

"He won't be able to hold this for long," muttered the Hokage and everyone agreed as they spotted the sweats rolling off the boy and how his panting had gotten worse. "I'm actually surprised to see that he lasted this long with the amount of chakra he's using..."

"Hokage-sama," said a voice, earning the attention of the Hokage. "It's time."

"I hope that I'm doing the right thing Dragon."

"Hokage-sama, what are you and Dragon-san talking about?" asked a confused Inoichi.

"Troublesome, it seems that this isn't an attack but a test," answered Shikaku. "It's a test so that Naruto can get inducted into the ANBU program."

"What? Isn't he too young for that life?" asked Tsume. "He's just 12 for Kami sake!"

"He's been forced to think as an adult, Tsume-san," answered Dragon as he watched the events about to unfold. "He never had a chance to have a childhood and he will never get to from how the people are treating him. Yet, their actions have made him mature faster in order to survive and yet he still fights to survive and to be stronger."

"Then what would make him stay here in Konoha? He could just leave when someone offers him more power."

"He won't," replied the Hokage with assurance as he watched the elemental blades of the blonde fully form. "He wants to gain power to protect those who he care about and cherish. Betraying Konoha would mean he would be turning his back on the ties he made here and that is something he wouldn't do."

"Let's see you deal with this!" roared the blonde boy as he swung both of his blades in front of him, into the water dragon. The impact of the water to the flames created a mass amount of steam that covered a large quantity of the field. Everyone could only hold their breath in anticipation for what was about to happen next before they heard a soft buzzing sound and the tearing of cloth.

The large steam cloud was quickly blown away to reveal the two back to back. However, there was a small difference. The mask of the purple haired assailant was gone, fallen on to ground in two parts, and revealing the face of a woman that he knew all too well. Her hair fell down her back and hey eyes were filled with as much shock as joy.

"Yugao-chan?" he asked hesitantly as he fought the darkness that was threatening to consume him.

"Hello Naru-chan," she whispered with a small smile. "You did great. I'm so proud of how strong you've become. We'll talk later but now, just rest."

He just let a small smile grace his face before allowing the blackness to consume his consciousness. His eyes just closed, but Yugao was able to see the joy and content in his eyes just before they closed. She was quick to catch him, making sure that he wasn't hurt or injured in any fashion. A small smile graced her lips as she stared at his sleeping form, who subconsciously cuddled into her chest, making her cheeks tint a light shade of red in embarrassment.

_Mindscape_

Naruto woke up on feeling something on him and it took him a little bit before his eyes were able to focus enough to see the mop of red hair that was scattered around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted nine tails waving back and forth slowly and that was enough for him to recognize who it was. He tried to feel if he had any feeling in his limbs and found that he had feeling in his two legs but only in one of his arms. It didn't take him long to figure out that it was within the grasp of the woman and trapped in between her rather large breasts. All he could do was sigh before using his free hand and rubs her head, making sure to catch the pair of red, furry ears on top of her head.

Rei, who had found Naruto in his unconscious state and decided to cuddle with him, felt something rub the top of her head and paying special attention to her ears. She bit back a moan as she found her eyes opening slowly. Her eyes quickly found a pair of cerulean eyes looking at her and it brought a smile to her face.

"Hello Rei-chan," he said to her softly with a smile on his face.

**"Hello to you Naruto-kun,"** she said happily before settling to a more serious attitude. **"You burned yourself out again. What have I told you about using almost all of your primary chakra supply? And you used a Kinjutsu that we told you not to use unless necessary!"**

"Rei-chan..."

**"And let's not forget that you placed a large amount of chakra into your attacks!"** ranted the female demoness as she stood up and looked at the boy with hands on her hips, who tried to back away in fear but couldn't as she quickly grabbed him and held him close. **"You had a bad case of chakra exhaustion and you tore quite a bit of your muscles... If it were anyone else, they would have died."**

Naruto could only look down as the red haired female held on to him, his arms wrapping around her and pulled her close, enough for her to whisper into his ear.

**"I've lost almost everyone I cared for. Your mom, my parents... I can't lose you too, Naruto. Please don't do something like that again. I don't want to lose you too..."**

"You won't lose me, I promise," he whispered back into her ear as her arms returned the hug he was giving her.

**"Don't make a girl a promise if you can't keep it."**

They remained this way until they were interrupted by the sound of giggles and chuckles. Both of them turned to find five spiritual beings standing side by side and looking at them with amusement in their eyes.

_"Don't mind us," _stated Ares with a grin. _"Please continue on while we get some more blackmail material on Rei-sama."_

_"Haha," _rumbled Exodus with deep rumble. _"Back in my day-"_

_"We don't need any of those stories," _interrupted Bahamut as he whacks the golem upside the head. _"Especially your stories about certain events that occurred during our journeys."_

_"Aww..." _cooed Velena with wide eyes. _"Don't they look adorable together? Why don't you act like that whenever we're nearby?"_

**"Because I knew you would act this way," **she muttered loudly in irritation.

_"Pish posh, that's no excuse. And his promise to you! That was so romantic! Can you share him with me?"_

**"No way! He's mine!" **she shouted rather loudly as she holds the boy tighter as to emphasize on her possessiveness. The elemental spirits could only release a laugh at the red haired woman's predicament, causing her to turn towards the blonde.

**"Naruto-kun," **she complained, using something he never seen her use before. Her body shrunk while her eyes widened to large proportions with tears threatening to fall. She practically turned into a chibi, making Naruto and both of the females look at her.

**"Those meanies are teasing and laughing at me..."**

_**"**__Kawaii!" _screeched both Ares and Velena, causing Naruto to grab the chibi female and run at a random direction. _"C'mon Naruto, you need to share such cuteness!"_

"No way! She's mine!" he cried out.

The pair chased him for a while but eventually stopped as they were unable to catch the boy with boundless stamina. Naruto, on the other hand, just found an isolated spot while rubbing chibi Rei on his cheek. Suddenly, she was covered in a white cloud before quickly dissipating to reveal the woman in her female form with her cheek still against Naruto's. Before Naruto could say anything, he found his form starting to fade away.

**"Well, I guess that means that you're waking up,"**she said sadly, her head lowering to look on the ground.

"I'll be back," he said as he lifts her chin up so that they were looking eye to eye. "I made a promise and I intend to keep that promise."

She couldn't help smile and it was the last thing he saw before he completely faded from his mindscape.

_Outside_

"How's the pup doing?" asked a voice. It took Naruto's brain several seconds to process who it was before it came to him. That was Tsume Inuzuka. He instantly knew he should wake up and make his presence know. With that thought he slowly opened his eyes with his arms stretching out in a random direction to relieve not being moved for what seemed like a long period of time. Those moments allowed the boy's cerulean eyes to focus and see who was with him. Standing by his bed was Yugao and the Third Hokage while Tsume, Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza, head of the Akimichi clan. However, there was one more person there that Naruto couldn't recognize.

"Well, how are you feeling, Naruto-kun?" asked the Third as the blonde boy yawned and started to scratch the back of his head, which reminded the elder Sarutobi of his successor and predecessor.

"I'm doing well Jiji," he replied as he sat up slowly before propping himself on his arms. "How long have I been here?"

"About three days."

"Iruka-sensei is going to kill me..."

"I wouldn't worry about that Naruto," replied the Hokage with a smile. "I handled it for you."

"Why did you try and spar with me right then Yugao-chan?" asked the boy as he looked at the woman, who turned a light shade of pink from the -chan that the boy added.

"Actually, that was me, Naruto," said the Hokage with seriousness. "The reason she did it was because I asked her to."

"Why Jiji?"

"Because of me," answered the unknown man. "I am Dragon. the ANBU Commander and leader of all ANBU units. He told me about your goal and how you wanted to protect those whom you care for. I was getting the reports of your progress from my subordinates that frequently teach you like Yugao-san. So I had to find out if you were as good as they claim you to be and if you had the drive that I seek."

"Why is that Dragon-san?"

"Because I have asked Hokage-sama to induct you into ANBU, to be trained and become one of the best shinobi that Konoha has to offer and help protect her. I won't manipulate you into making a choice and leave it to you."

"Is that why you had me fight?"

"Yes and not to be rude but you're a diamond in the rough, kid," he said with a chuckle. "Really rough but given time, I just have this feeling that you're going to be one giant diamond."

"I guess I'll do it."

"Are you sure you want to accept right now, Naruto?" asked the Hokage. "Don't try and make any rash decisions you might regret."

"I agree with Hokage-sama," stated Dragon seriously. "If you join ANBU, you will be pushing away any chance you will have of being a normal 12 year old. You will be treated like any ANBU personnel and endure the same things they do. Chances are that you will have to kill."

"I'm sure."

"Since you're certain and not backing down, I guess that means that you're sure. Very well then," stated Dragon. "Naruto Uzumaki, I officially welcome you to the ANBU corps. I will be sending you more information in a few weeks and your uniform will be give to you by this weekend at the latest."

"Naruto..." said Yugao softly, causing Naruto to look at her.

"Don't worry Yugao-chan," he said back with a smile. "I know what I'm doing."

"Naruto," Hokage said, gaining the boy's attention. "Since you are doing well now, you'll be checked out. Chances are that you'll have to attend until the end of the Academy."

"Thanks Jiji," replied the boy with a smile

_Six Month Time Skip_

The six months flew by quickly for Naruto as he attended the Academy and it wasn't because of the lesson. He quickly became top of the class without much effort and it earned him the ire of Sasuke and his fan club. They were mad when they first learned that a new student suddenly became better than the Uchiha and it didn't help them that Hinata Hyuuga took the lead for the Kunoichi section of the class. During his time in his classes, Naruto was often found chatting with Hinata and his other friends like Shino, Kiba, and Shikamaru. Iruka couldn't get on them because they were some of the best of the class and even played attention while talking to each other, as they proved to him when he questioned them.

However, something everyone in the class noticed was that Naruto started to appear to classes extremely tired. It concerned all of his friends and Iruka but he just told them that he was fine. In reality, Dragon had sent him his mask and his uniform for ANBU. He had quickly taken a liking to his mask, which resembled a kitsune, and while he found the uniform comfortable when he first tried it on, he had other thoughts. Dragon had started to train him for several hours after his time in Academy and he found little rest.

However, today was going to be different. Today was the yearly exam and from what Iruka had mentioned to him. It was to consist of a Ninjutsu demonstration where everyone who knew a jutsu could showoff while the exam consisted of a Taijutsu exam and a Weapons test that ranged from close range to projectiles.

"Oi brats," called Iruka over the sounds of chatter. "Listen up! We'll be starting the exams-"

He was interrupted as a figure opened the door and walked in.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei," apologized the person as they scratched their head. "Jiji took a little longer then needed when we were talking. We kinda lost track of time..."

"It's fine Naruto. We were just about to start so get to your seat," replied Iruka, earning him shocked looks as everyone examined the boy as he walked by. He had a black coat with a tail that reached to the back of his knees and a hood but it was lowered to reveal his head. A pair of vambraces covered his lower arm, extending from his wrist to his elbows. He also wore a black shirt with his dark grey ANBU armor covering it and they quickly noticed the large amount of cloth that lied under his chin. To everyone else, it was just some cloth but to shinobi who knew Kakashi, they would have known it was a face mask. He had cargo pants along with combat boots instead of the normal shinobi sandals. A red sash was attached around his waist with several small scabbards on it and there were some more on his shoulders, though they were attached to a pair of dull silver shoulder plates. Hanging off his back was a scabbard with a familiar katana held within it.

"That's Naruto?" asked one of his classmates.

"He looks more dumb..."

Naruto just ignored these comments as he took a seat beside his friends. Shikamaru just looked at him before sighing out, making his friends laugh.

"You are so troublesome Naruto," he stated. "Maybe even more troublesome than my mom."

"You don't mean that Shika," said Hinata before noticing that was class was filtering out to go to the field for the exams. "Let's go guys. It's time for the exams."

"But Hinata-chan!" groaned the blonde rather loudly. "I just sat down."

"Not our fault, Naru-kun. It's your fault for being late."

They all stood up, some more reluctantly than others, and followed the train of students heading outside to the training field. The two Chunin instructors just stood in the middle of the field as they watched the students trickle in until they were sure that everyone was there.

"OK, as stated before, this is your yearly exam," announced Iruka. "First, we will be doing the Weapons test. We have placed several weapons for you to use and we will score you for your skill with it."

As expected, most of the students used a combination of Shuriken and Kunais, especially those who came from a civilian family. The only ones who didn't use just the basic projectiles were Shino, Shikamaru, and Sasuke. Shino had decided on showing his experience in using senbons, needle-like projectiles that required a large amount of precision and accuracy to use. Shikamaru, much to his displeasure, used a pair of trench knives to showcase his close combat abilities, which surprised everyone. Sasuke, after show launching his shuriken and kunai, pulled out a katana and started to hack the dummies with some skill. It had impressed his fan club but to an more experienced swordsman like Naruto, he could find the flaws and the openings in his stance. As soon as he finished, he intentionally bumped into Naruto.

"Beat that dobe," he stated with a smirk.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" called Iruka as he watched the boy walk to his starting place. "Naruto, we have placed the weapons that you could use or if you desire, you can use your own weapons."

"Thanks sensei!" stated the boy as he grabbed eight kunais before taking aim and launching them at the farthest dummy. They didn't strike the target drawn on it but scattered around it, which caused most of his class to laugh.

"Nice shot, dobe!" laughed Sakura as she pointed at his target, not noticing his smirk.

"N-Naruto," stuttered Iruka, earning him the attention of his class as they stopped laughing. "How?"

"I've been helped by some of the older shinobi," he said cheerfully.

"Iruka-sensei, what are you talking about?" asked one of the students. "Didn't he miss?"

"Troublesome, Naruto didn't miss," said Shikamaru before anyone could speak. "If that was a person, he would have killed them instantly. He didn't aim for the target but for the vital points on a human."

"Ruining my fun, Shika," complained the boy loudly.

"Naruto, are you done?" asked Mizuki as he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Not yet," muttered the boy as he grabbed the shurikens and tossed them with as much precision and accuracy as the kunais. The senbons followed suit and just as he threw the last needle-like weapon, he drew his blade and sliced the nearest dummy at insane speeds for any of the other students. He sheathed the blade slowly before the audible click echoed around the field. As soon as that click was heard, they heard the cracking as the straw dummy slid down.

"Ok, now that we're done, everyone move to the Taijutsu field," called Iruka, breaking everyone from their trance. Taijutsu ended practically the same way that the weapons test did with most of the class resorting on using the Academy style with only some of the clan heirs using their family's style. Naruto completely crushed Sasuke like the several times before and it brought him cheers from his friends. It wasn't until several hours later, near the end of the class that they started the Ninjutsu.

"Ninjutsu is the art of converting chakra into attacks that non-chakra users will not be able to use," lectured Iruka to his class. "Using your own chakra, you will be able to perform attacks that vary by element or usage. Here's an example. Snake - Ram - Monkey - Boar - Horse - Tiger. **Fire Release: Grand Fireball**!"

A fireball shot from the scarred Chunin's mouth and shot towards a dummy. The flames completely consumed the entirety of its target, leaving the blackness from the flames and the ashes as the remains.

"That jutsu is of the fire element and it is used an offensive jutsu," explained Iruka. "There are the five basic elements which are fire, water, air, earth, and lightning. They can be used as offensive, defensive, or support. Now, does anyone have any jutsus that you want to show the class?"

Shikamaru was the first to show his as he used the **Shadow Imitation Jutsu**, making his shadow extend and touch Iruka's. The young students started to make some movements and everyone found that Iruka was doing the same.

Ino Yamanaka came up next before using her **Mind Body Switch**. The female Yamanaka invaded the Chnnin's mind before controlling his actions. She then released the jutsu to return to her body, which was laying on the ground motionless.

Choji Akamichi moved forward after Ino before using his family's fabled **Partial Multi-Size Jutsu**. He then extended one of his arms, which grew until it was bigger than his body before smashing one of the remaining posts. As he lifted his arm, it showed the small splinters that remained of the post.

Sasuke was next, smirking as the fan girls all cheered at his every movement before going through several hand seals.

"**Fire Release; Phoenix Fire Flower**."

He spat out several balls of fire that were the size of basketballs and they made contact with some of the posts and only burning them halfway through yet leaving them aflame. As he moved back to examine his work, he smirked as he thought that he had taken the lead from the blonde boy. However, he was mistaken as Naruto took at step forward before flashing through several signs.

"**Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet**!"

From a nearby pond, a large quantity of it lifted and formed into a large dragon and sped towards the flaming posts. It made impact and the sounds of wood breaking was heard as the stream ended to leave a soaked field with a large quantity of splintered wood lying everywhere.

"Nice jutsu Naruto," commented Iruka as he looked at the destruction that the boy had caused with a sweat drop before turning to his class. "That's all for today. Results will be sent to your families and I hope to see you all next year."

Cheers were heard and Naruto could only breathe out of sigh of relief before spotting that all of his friends were heading to their parents and families. His eyes caught Tsume and as soon as she saw him, she gave him a wave with a feral smile before leaving. Naruto could only smile before spotting a fuming Uchiha heading his and way and decided to shunshin out.

_Hokage's Tower_

"Naruto should be here by now," muttered the Hokage as he finished reading another piece of paper before signing it. "What do you have to tell me, Dragon?"

"He's doing well," replied the ANBU Commander. "Training is going slower than I thought but I think it's because we're going over things that I didn't take into account of."

"Such as?"

"He's a great infiltration expert, like you have mentioned before and I'm making sure that he doesn't get rusty with that along with his skills in trap making and for that to happen, I have been resorted on making his mission rather long. And his friendship with the Nara heir has developed his capabilities as a tactician and we have decided that improving that would be a good idea."

Naruto took that moment to appear in a swirl of leaves. He was instantly greeted by his trainer/commanding officer and the Hokage.

"Hello Naruto," greeted the old man. "How was your last day for the school year?"

"Great I guess," he said nonchalantly. "Iruka-sensei allowed the students who knew how to use jutsus to show off after we took our yearly final. The final was rather easy since it was just Taijutsu and a Weapons exam but none of it really took much effort."

"So I see that you decided to wear our uniform..." mentioned Dragon as he looked at the boy. "Or rather part of our uniform."

"Well..."

"Haha! It's fine kid!" replied the commander as he let loose a loud laugh. "As long as you remember to wear the mask while you're in the field then you're fine."

"And speaking of which, I've heard from a little birdie," started the Third with his voice full of playfulness. "That a certain clan head has taken a liking to you."

"I-I don't know w-what you're t-talking about."

That was all Sarutobi needed as he looked at the boy with a rather large smile before looking at the two.

"Why don't we head to the training ground now?"

With a nod, the three people within the office disappear in a flash with no evidence of them ever being there.

_Undisclosed Training Ground_

They quickly appeared as fast as they disappeared in the middle of field covered by trees at all sides. Naruto just watched as his clones trained using everything they knew, ranging from weapons to jutsus. He made these clones daily in order to make sure that he wasn't losing training time and to maximize the amount of time he had to train. It wasn't long for the clones to notice them along with those teaching them and they stated to dispel in small groups at timed intervals in order to prevent a large backlash. Hiruzen Sarutobi took this time to turn and look at Naruto with Dragon by his side. Kakashi and Yugao took their positions beside the two.

'Naruto, you have gotten strong," he said. "You have become strong enough and your skills have been recognize by Dragon, Konoha's ANBU Commander. And I am proud to say, both as the Hokage and someone who cares for you greatly, to commission you into the ANBU Corps. On the field, you will be known as Kitsune. This is all black operations and thus, only the people here know about this."

"Naruto, please know that if the council or the elders ever find about this, they will do everything they can to ensure that you are either decommissioned or forced to take missions that would endanger you in ways that you can't even imagine," stated Dragon. "The reason for this is because of an ANBU member, codename Weasel, who is an ANBU member who is younger than you and it has made him something akin to a emotionless killing machine."

"I understand why you are doing this," said the blonde boy with a smile as the Hokage pulled him into a hug that lasted for several seconds.

"I'm proud of you Naruto and I'm sure that your parents would have been proud to know that you are becoming a great shinobi just like they were. You're making your own name, outside the shadows of your parents."

"Otouto, you know that I'm proud at how much you've accomplished," stated Kakashi as he took his turn to hug the boy. "I've watched you grow over the few years that I've taught you and I can't help but say that I'm proud that I was your teacher and helped you become this way."

"Thanks Nii-san," replied the boy before looking at the Hokage with a half serious expression. "When do I begin?"

"Be here in five days time," stated Dragon. "Yugao will show you how to get to HQ and show you around, Then, you should be starting missions soon."

"C'mon Naruto," said Yugao as she pulled the boy. "You're coming with me and Kakashi to meet up with some of our friends."

"Where are we going, Yugao-chan, Kaka-nii?" he asked them as he was helpless dragged by purple haired woman down a random street as they ignored the looks from the people walking by.

"We're going to a well known shinobi bar called the Dragon's Den," replied Kakashi with an eye smile as he watched the blonde boy's current predicament. "It's a good place to go when you want to rest and unwind with some friends, especially after a long mission."

The trio quickly arrived at the place and at Naruto's first glance, he didn't think anything of it as it looked like a normal restaurant on the outside. However, his thoughts changed as soon as he entered in. Instead of the formal dining room set up, the place was a mixture of a club, a bar, and a restaurant. Along the back wall, a large bar table was set up with several servers working with drinks. Tables were pushed off to the side to allow the middle as the dance floor for anyone who wished to dance.

"Yu-chan!" called a voice, earning their attention. They were quick to find a hand above the heads of everyone in the place and quickly walked in that direction. It didn't take them long to find a rather large group of shinobi who looked at them with smiles on their faces.

"Yu-chan, you made it in time," cried a purple haired woman as she rushed up to hug her. "And little Naru-chan is here too!"

"Hello!" greeted the blonde as he looked at the female with a smile.

"Anko, is this the kid you were talking about?" asked a red eyed kunoichi as she examined him carefully.

"Of course, Kurenai-chan! This is Naruto and he's awesome!"

"Of course I'm awesome, dattebayo~!"

"Dattebayo?" asked Kurenai as she allowed a smile to grace her lips. "Quite adorable."

"That's never happened before," stated Naruto in horror as his senseis' friends looked at him.

"I find it very youthful!" shouted a man clad in green with a bowl cut hair. "And there is nothing to be ashamed about! Such youthfulness should be allowed to flourish!"

"Gai..." stated Kakashi in a tone that made it like a warning.

"Of course, my youthful rival!" responded the man was he gave him a large thumbs up.

"Ok Naruto," said Yugao, gaining his attention. "Let me introduce you to some of our friends."

"Hello Naruto-san, I'm Kurenai Yuhi," stated the red eyed woman. "I'm a genjutsu specialist and it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And next this is-"

"Are you related to Tsume Inuzuka?" he asked rather abruptly to the woman in front of him, who had straight hair tied in a pony tail but had the fangs drawn under her eyes. "Cause you remind me of her."

"Nice guess pup. She's my mom and my name is Hana Inuzuka," she stated with a smile. "Mom mentioned you yesterday and got my brother urged. It seems that I have to find out if what my mom said about you is true."

"Your brother?"

"He's your classmate, Kiba."

"So you two are related?" he asked, earning him a nod. "But you two are nothing a like!"

"So we have been told. However, we are related in blood."

"You already know me kid," stated a smirking Anko. "But it's great to see you again. I never have a chance to see you anymore unless it's one of those chance encounters."

"Don't worry! I'll try and visit you whenever I can!"

"I'm Maito Gai!" shouted the man. "And I find you to be very youthful! Your springtime of youth is overflowing with such youthfulness!"

"Gai, calm down."

"You know me but I might as well reintroduce myself," said a rather tall man with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. "Names Asuma Sarutobi and the Third is my pop."

"Well, now that the awkward introductions are finished, let's party!" cheered Anko as she chugs down a bottle of sake.

The night flew by quickly as the group had fun with each other, talking about memories that occurred in the past as they revealed funny and embarrassing stories about each other. For Naruto, it like he belonged to that group. They were fun, treating him like he was one of them but not in the sense of drinking alcohol but he didn't mind that. The food they had was good and nothing short of fun was had. He wouldn't notice it but time had flown fast. Before he knew it, he was walking home with a large smile, a half drunk Kakashi , and a giggling Yugao. Things couldn't be better.

_Time Skip_

Naruto was enjoying his walk through the nearby forest. It had been several weeks since his commissioning and things were looking good for him. Yugao had taken the time to give him a tour of the HQ and found it to be very large in a sense. He had entered there several times during his infamous security trials but he never took the time to examine how big the place actually was.

He was quickly brought out of his thoughts by a loud screeching. Circling above him was a rather large eagle and he knew what that meant. He quickly bolted towards the Hokage Tower, pulling up his face mask and hood to cover his hair and lower face before sliding his Kitsune mask into place. The eagle was something that Naruto, the Third and Dragon to contact the boy. It was something frequently seen flying over Konoha other than the pigeons and thus, no one would be suspicious of it.

With a serious face, he entered the Tower and walked briskly to the office door before knocking.

"Come in."

He turned the door to reveal the Hokage sitting on his chair but there was someone else here. It was a woman, wearing a blue dress where the top reached the middle of her Double C, if not D breasts. However, her mesh shirt seemed to cover the rest and her lips were painted in dark blue. That was when Naruto looked into her eyes and found them to be an interesting shade of light green.

"Kitsune, it is good to see you. We have a situation that I believe only you may be able to handle without things going out of control," stated the old man before gesturing the woman he was looking at. "This is Mei Terumi, the leader of the Rebel Faction in Kiri."

**Naruto Uzumaki**

**Age: 12**

**Sex: Male**

**Birthday: October 10th**

**Blood Type: B**

**Skills:**

_Sealing = Low ANBU (To become better, he requires the aid of a seal master and the only one is Jiraiya of the Sannin)_

_Stealth = High ANBU (The protection is better in all of his infiltration missions but he isn't progressing as much since he has the Academy to deal with along with training alongside the Hokage. Also, the ANBU units are doing these missions themselves to better improve their skills in stealth. )_

_Reflexes = Low ANBU_

_Speed = Low ANBU_

_Strength = Low ANBU_

_(He isn't gaining much in this field because he is spending more time in the Academy so he doesn't train as much as he use to but that doesn't mean that these areas will go down. He still uses them when he trains)_

_Chakra Control = Mid Jonin_

_Chakra Sensing = High Genin to Low Chunin_

_Kenjutsu = Single Wield: Artisan, Dual Wield: Expert, Dual-sided Blade: Journeyman _

_Ninjutsu = High Jonin to Low ANBU __(A large arsenal of elemental jutsus that range in ranking. He also knows quite a bit of non-elemental jutsus and a few more of his bloodline jutsus but tends not to use them because of possible collateral damage)_

_Genjutsu = Low Chunin __(He has started to learn how to use it, especially because of the activation of his eye bloodline but finds a lack of motive to push for more improvement since it doesn't fit his combat style.)_

_Taijutsu = __Low Jonin (He's reached the Intermediate stage of the stances but requires the assistance of a Taijutsu Master like Maito Gai.)_

_Chakra Capacity = Mid Sannin _

_Intelligence (strategist and tactician) = Official: N/A, Unofficial: Above average_

_Medical Jutsu/Antidotes and Salves = __ High Chunin (His high chakra control has helped him be able to be able to practice some of the jutsus in this field. He has a large array of antidotes and salves from the herbs he had planted in the garden near the house in the forest.)_

_Poison Creation/Concocting = High Chunin (Increased in correlation of antidotes and salves through the usage of herbs and snake poisons. ANBU agent Snake assists him in the field of poison because of her usage of snakes. He also started to use poisonous plants in conjugation with the snake poison to make stronger poisons.)_

_Weapon forging/repairing = Journeyman (Understands the basics and is able to forge weapons and pieces of armor that aren't complex to smith. Requires the help of Master in order to progress further.)_

**Missions:**

_S-ranked - 12 (Hokage Tower infiltration missions)_

_A-ranked - 39 (the ANBU HQ infiltration missions), 0 (ANBU missions)_

_B-ranked – 48 (Clan compound infiltration missions), 1 (Diplomatic), 0 (ANBU missions)_

_C-ranked – 68 (Inside the village C-ranks), 0 (ANBU Missions)_

_D-ranked – 278_

**A/N: Again sorry for the rather long and unstated hiatus. As for the votes, I have decided what it will be for the weapon based on the pros and cons you have sent in. You know the drill, Read and review. No flames. Advice is appreciated. Thank you again and here is a sneak peek of the what's next:**

_**"You have become strong like I have asked. Now, I require your service."**_

"What is your bidding?"

_**"Naruto, I require for you to visit the Tomb of the Ten Guardians, protectors who fought to their last breath and buried in peace by an unknown God. But we respect their wishes and made it one of the most sacred of places but it is currently being defiled by the creatures of darkness. Slay them and protect the Tomb."**_

"It will be done."

_**" This place contains many secrets about the past, some of which should remain hidden for the rest of eternity for it may cause history to repeat itself."**_


	7. Chapter 7: Kiri's Plea, Kami's Call

Chapter 7: Kiri's Plea, Kami's Call

**A/N: Hello loyal readers of Fanfiction! Here is what you have long awaited for! The Next chapter. Also, some of you have asked about my posting schedule, chances are that I will post every week or two depending on which story I am updating. **

**If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a PM or write a review. I'll make sure to answer them in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the creative required to make this piece.**

_Previously in Fate of One: The Elements_

_With a serious face, he entered the Tower and walked briskly to the office door before knocking._

_"Come in."_

_He turned the door to reveal the Hokage sitting on his chair but there was someone else here. It was a woman, wearing a blue dress where the top reached the middle of her Double C, if not D breasts. However, her mesh shirt seemed to cover the rest and her lips were painted in dark blue. That was when Naruto looked into her eyes and found them to be an interesting shade of light green._

_"Kitsune, it is good to see you. We have a situation that I believe only you may be able to handle without things going out of control," stated the old man before gesturing the woman he was looking at. "This is Mei Terumi, the leader of the Rebel Faction in Kiri."_

_Start of Chapter 6_

The auburn haired woman looked at the ANBU member that stood in the office with her. He looked completely different from the group of ANBU members that had escorted her here and that led to her developing her own opinion.

_'There must be a reason why he's different from the others,'_ she thought. _'Could it mean that is stronger than them or he must be there specialist for this type of thing.'_

"Mei, this is Kitsune, one of our ANBU operatives," stated Hiruzen before seeing her eyes narrow in what he believed as suspicion before deciding to tell her a truth in order to gain her trust. "He's belongs to the Black Ops, technically making one of our more powerful members."

"Not to be rude Hokage-sama," said Mei as she bowed her head before looking to at the old man. "But how is one ANBU Black Ops operative going to help end this war? Because you stated that he was one of your more powerful members. Wouldn't that mean that you have at least a squad free to help Kiri?"

"Mei-san, I know what you worry of and I understand why you ask your question," said the Hokage with a smile as he looked at Kitsune. "Kitsune, while young, is considered one of our biggest powerhouses, if not the strongest, regarding mass destruction. He is still being taught but that doesn't matter considering the level he is currently at. As much as I would love to help end the war in Kiri, Konoha is still suffering from our own problems and by committing to assisting that war, it will cause more problems for Konoha than I would wish."

"I understand Hokage-sama," apologized Mei. "You are the one who is providing us with support, therefore I shouldn't question your judgment."

"It is fine that you did so, Mei-san," replied the Third with a small smile. "You are worried about your nation, which is currently in a time of crisis and you are trying to end that but do not lose hope, for you are the hope of the war ending. I hope that Kitsune will be able to help and once I get things sorted out a little more here in Konoha, I will send a squad to assist you."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"If you wish, Mei," started the Third. "I transfer him to you until the end of the war so he will follow your orders unless they conflict with Konoha's. You can also test him if you do not believe me about his skills. I do warn you, he will disappear quite a bit and it is more on several side missions that he has. Other than that, he will be Konoha's representative, being our advise and our strength along with our Will."

"I might do so when we arrive at our base in Kiri," she answered before spotting a portrait at the corner her eyes. It was a blonde man that she had met once before as a child, promising that he would return and give her a family. She immediately agreed and found herself in a marriage agreement with the man's son. This man was Minato Namikaze, the 'Yellow Flash' of Konoha. However, her hope was lost when she heard that both Minato and his son had died when the Kyuubi attacked.

Naruto watched behind his mask as the woman named Mei looked at his father's portrait with a small smile but it quickly turned into a small frown.

"When will you be ready to leave?" she asked, turning towards him.

"I can get enough supplies for the trip in about two hours," replied Naruto.

"Good, meet us at the Eastern Gate when you're ready," she replied before moving to exit, but halted to look back at the Hokage and motioned towards the Fourth. "It was sad day when they died."

"I agreed," Hiruzen responded. "I take it that you knew him. He was one of the best that the village had to offer and was too young to die. The Uchiha are too arrogant and the Hyuuga are too stone like so it was nice for them to see someone rise through hard work and determination. No one seems it until they actually do it themselves."

"I agree with you, Hokage-sama," she replied with a chuckle. "Arrogance killed so many men in my command. As for the Fourth, I would have loved to have met his son before he died."

"What do you mean?" asked a curious Hokage.

"During your first term as Hokage, Namikaze-sama saved me from a terrible fate and he promised me that he would give me a family that would care and love me. I was one of the few that remained of the Terumi clan and he made a marriage contract with our elder back then. The reason for this was because of my clan's rather close friendship with the Uzumaki clan."

"So you knew..."

"Yes, my clan knew that there was an Uzumaki who survived the destruction of Uzu and was living in Konoha. They met her, Kushina Uzumaki, after Namikaze-sama saved me and the three of them organized my marriage with their expected son. It wouldn't be long before I heard of the attack on Konoha by the Nine-Tailed Fox and that it resulted in the dead of the whole family. I had hoped that it wasn't true but it became reality when an ANBU member came to our compound and told me that he had died with the rest of his family."

The elder Sarutobi could only watch as the woman told her story and felt anger boil within him when he saw a tear trail down her face. As soon as he heard of the ANBU member, he knew exactly who it was and he knew that trouble was going to erupt soon. He unclenched his fist s before moving towards her, kneeling beside her and looking her in the eyes.

Naruto, on the other hand, was shocked and it would have showed if he didn't have his mask covering his face. He had a fiancé! It was to a woman who could be considered leaps and bounds stronger than him. She was beautiful, but not as beautiful as the red haired vixen sealed within him.

"Mei, what did the ANBU look like?" asked the Hokage softly. "The one who told you that he was dead. What did he look like?"

"He looked like the ANBU members that escorted me here, but there was a difference. The mask wasn't an animal but rather a mark. I believe it was 'NE'," she stated before looking at him in confusion. "Why do you ask? Didn't you send him?"

"I did send an ANBU to deliver a message to you but he wore a Bear mask. The letter he carried was to tell you that he had survived but no further information was going to be sent in order to ensure safety for both of you until he became strong enough to fend off his father's enemies. However, rest assured that he is safe in Konoha, becoming stronger. You will get the chance to meet him after you come back with the war in Kiri finished."

"We'll be back," she stated with conviction. "But promise me that he'll be here."

"He will, I will not kid you about this."

With a smile, she left the room and left the other two standing in the room by themselves. Naruto couldn't help but let the shock flow through before the Hokage shook him, gaining his attention.

"I know that you were overwhelmed over the information that you just heard, but please try to come back," he said. "There's someone who wants to meet you when you end this feud in Kiri."

"But this is a war!" replied Naruto. "As my first mission in ANBU, you send me to a war! I'm not one of the strongest Jiji! I just started a short while ago."

"I trust you and Dragon does as well," said the elder Sarutobi with a smile as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You will be exposed to the many atrocities in war but this will show you what you will have to endure and have to face. I won't like when I say that this will change you. But it will be up to you to decide how it changes you."

"But-"

"And I wasn't lying when I said that you were one of the strongest, the amount of jutsus you have in your arsenal along with your capacity makes you a destructive force. Now, you should go and get your things together before meeting Mei-san at the gates."

"Jiji... Thank you for everything."

With that, Naruto jumped away to leave an old man to his thoughts.

_'Kami-sama, please don't make this a mistake,'_ thought the Third as he takes a puff of his pipe. _'Please make sure that I made the right decision by doing this...'_

_Naruto's Home_

Naruto had appeared outside his home and found himself unconsciously thinking about the things that were revealed to him. His house was rather neat but it had to be with his roommates, Kakashi and Yugao. They never would let him make a mess and not clean it up so he had learned just to keep the place clean. His eyes roamed, looking at the place one more time as he spotted a large scroll sitting against the wall. He grabbed it and unrolled it before spotting the marks of a storage scroll and with a sigh, he started to seal some of the necessities he would need such as more clothes, weapons, and food for the journey there.

_**'Naruto.'**_

_'Sensei?'_

_**'Siegfried and I have found a way for you to always have us on you without completely reveal ourselves.'**_

_'How sensei?'_

_**'Retrieve us and then you will see.'**_

Naruto just blinked before walking towards the place where he had last placed the two large blades. It had been a while since he actually had used either one of them but neither of the spirits minded. In fact, they encouraged for him to do so in order to prevent him from overly relying on them. He grabbed the blades, one in each hand. Then, they suddenly began to glow brightly that it completely blinded him. He felt the handle in his hand grow smaller and it wasn't long before the glowing died down. In his hands were two crystals that extended the entirety of his palm. One of them was a light blue crystal that was hexagon all around while the other one in his hand was more of a cylinder with leather bound all around it. Both of them were conveniently small enough to fit into a small pocket that was placed right beside his hidden blades.

_'This way, you will be able to easily accessible to us without revealing us to your enemy,'_ stated Siegfried.

_'Thank you, senseis,' _responded Naruto as he slid one of the small items into the pocket of his left vambrace before placing the other one in the right one. He returned to his spot before and started to seal his items into the scroll and it wasn't long before he was done before deciding on doing a mental check list.

Scroll with food, clothes, and other necessities. Check.

Katana. Check.

Kunai, Shuriken, and other weapons. Check.

Soul Edge and Force Edge. Check.

Full ANBU uniform with both masks. Check.

Shoulder plates. Check.

Daggers sheathes on my belt and shoulder plates. Check.

_'Looks like it's time to do this,'_ thought Naruto with a grim look. He grabbed his scroll and placed it in a case before slinging it around his back. As soon as he walked outside, he was spotted by Yugao and Kakashi. They had just finished their daily patrol and gotten word that Naruto was about to leave for his first mission from Dragon.

"We heard that you got called to your mission," stated Kakashi as he looked at the Kitsune masked boy. "Looks like you're going to a war..."

"Because I am," responded Naruto as he shifted uncomfortably under their combined gaze as he tried to look into the two pairs of eyes of his teachers. "Jiji is sending me to Kiri to assist the rebels and end the war so I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"Wait... They're deploying you to Kiri for your first mission and to a war no less," stated Yugao with worry in her eyes. "Can't you get something else?"

The blonde was tackled by a purple blur and he found himself laying on top of his large scrolls. He had closed his eyes during the tackle but he found himself looking at Yugao holding him tightly before he picked her up and lifted themselves up.

"Sorry Yugao-chan," said Naruto softly. "I can't do anything about the mission but I promise that I will be back as soon as I can safe and sound. I'll even send you letters if you want me to."

"Promise me that you'll be safe," she whispered softly, burying her head into his shoulder.

"I promise," he whispered softly as he held her close for a few seconds before pushing her away. "I have to go now."

With a nod towards Kakashi, he removed his hold from her woman's grasp before disappearing with intent on going to the gate. Kakashi and Yugao stood there for a moment before Kakashi looked at the woman beside him.

"I'm sure that he'll be safe," he told her with utter confidence. "After all, he was taught by the best and we all taught him a lot, He'll use what he learned to survive and endure. And if he's anything like sensei, then he'll return back. He never broke a promise when he was with Kushina-san and I have a feeling that Naruto inherited that from his dad."

"I guess you're right," she replied back.

"Of course he'll be back Yugao!" stated Kakashi with an eye smile. "He wouldn't want to leave one of his future girlfriends alone when he dies, will he?"

"Of course he wouldn't- Wait a minute," she started before narrowing her eyes in anger and looking around for the grey haired man who had mysteriously disappeared. "I'll get him back, that I swear."

_Eastern Gate_

Mei Terumi just looked at the setting sun from her current position. Beside her were her two guards, Ao and Chojuro, who accompanied her to Konoha. They just watched their leader with a confused look etched on their face.

"Mei-sama, what are we waiting for?" asked Ao as he looked around with his one visible eye. "You told us that Konoha was not going to be supporting us in our cause."

"Ao, I stated that they would not be publically supporting us," stated Mei with a sigh. "It's almost been two hours."

"Again what are we waiting for?"

"Ao, shut up before I kill you."

It would be a matter of second before a breeze blew through the trees, letting the leaves fly all around. Suddenly, they started to swirl at the spot in front of them before a rather tall figure appeared with a hood covering his hair and a mask to cover his face.

"Mei-san, ANBU operative Kitsune reporting for duty," he stated before bowing to the woman, completely ignoring the two guards.

"Mei-san, would you mind explaining?" asked Ao as he examined the Konoha shinobi that stood in front of them.

"This is Kitsune and he is our support from Konoha," replied Mei.

"One person?!"

"From what the Hokage has told me, Kitsune is one of the best in the type of combat we are in," she stated in irritation. "Now let's go. Kitsune, you will take one of the flanks with Ao. Chojuro will follow up behind us."

"Of course Mei-san," answered the ANBU operative and with a nod, the four shinobi sped away from the gates of Konoha to head for Kiri. For Naruto, he had a feeling that he wouldn't be seeing his home for a while, a long while. They veered from the dirt path and jumped into the trees of the forest. The travel was rather silent as they traveled through the dense forests with the moon rising above their heads.

Moonlight was the only source of light for the traveling group of shinobi as it pierced through the cloud of leaves held high by the wooden branches. Time flew by as the only sounds heard were the soft steps of their feet making contact with the branches and the rustling of the leaves that were slowly increasing as the wind slowly increased in speed. At first, they completely ignored it until the moonlight from above started to fade away as dark clouds covered it. It wasn't long before rain started to fall on top of them in copious amounts. They traveled for a few more hours before they all silently agreed to stop for the night.

Mei and Kitsune were tasked to find some shelter for the night while Ao and Chojuro went out to gather some fire wood and some food for the night. Naruto could only sigh in relief that they were able to stop for the night as he watched the red haired woman walk around and search the forest for any source of shelter from the onslaught of rain.

"I can't find anything," muttered Mei loud enough for Naruto to hear.

"What about this cave over here?" asked Naruto as he walked towards a rather large hole alongside a mountainside. "Looks big enough but we need some light...

"Well, we're going to need to wait for Ao and Chojuro. They'll have some branches and sticks for us to use along with some food."

"There's no need," Naruto stated as he chuckled before pulling off his glove on his left hand and manipulating his chakra to light it. It was almost instantaneously as his hand was consumed in a bright flame, illuminating the shadows and the darkness.

"How were you able to do that?" asked Mei with surprise, confusion, and suspicion. "I have heard about manipulating into weapons and shaping them using hand seals but you didn't use any. You just lit your hand on fire!"

"It's... a secret," replied Naruto with a chuckle before moving close to Mei. She just watched intently as the masked man placed his right hand on her soaked dress and left it there before pulling it away. What she saw shocked her once more. Water started to pull away from her clothes before combining into a rather large ball of water. Mei just took a moment as her mouth opened in shock before feeling her dress. It was soft and dry.

_'He was able to pull water from my clothes,'_ she thought.

"You know it isn't polite to leave your mouth open," he said playfully. Mei just closed her mouth before turning red in embarrassment and anger as a small tick formed over her head. Naruto could only chuckle before he placed his scroll down to check over his supplies. Mei took advantage of this as she snuck behind him before she pulled his hood back and stole his mask away from his face. Naruto was caught unaware from this as he looked up in shock to find Mei with his mask in her hand. Mei just smiled evilly before turning to look at his face. What she saw shocked her, causing her to drop the mask as she practically looked at a carbon copy of Minato Namikaze with the only exception being the three whisker marks on his cheek.

"You- You lok just like N-Namikaze-sama!" she pointed out, earning her chuckles from the blonde and practically angered her. "Why are you chuckling? hell, why do you look like the Fourth Hokage? Are you an-"

She was cut off as a hand covered her mouth and looked towards Naruto, who had placed his finger to his mouth to tell her to be quiet. Mei just shook her head to reply to the blonde that she understood as the sounds of leaves crunching echoed within the cavern. Naruto quickly extinguished his flame before pulling up his hood and grabbing the fallen mask and placing it on his face. Silently, Naruto walked towards the opening before peeking out. Whatever he say had him terrified as he turned and tackled the auburn haired woman to the ground. Fortunately, he was quick enough as several blasts of water slammed into the stone walls where they once stood. They were able to pick themselves up quickly before finding that they were surrounded.

"Mei Terumi, the leader of the Rebel Faction of Kiri," sneered one of their opponents before turning to his assailants. "I wonder how much the Fourth Mizukage is going to pay for her head."

"Should we take her alive or dead?"

"I don't know," answered another. "But before we do that, let's have some fun with her."

The lecherous grins plastered on their faces was enough for Mei to know what they planned to do with her and normally, she wouldn't be frightened by this but the amount of aggressors that surrounded her made her start to worry whether she would be able to get out. She drew a pair of kunais from her pouch and prepared herself for the fight ahead. From what she could tell, they were mostly bandits judging from their scraggly outlook and differences in weapons along with lack of stance. That's when she noticed the dark aura coming from the ANBU member beside her. He just stood there with his hand tightly clenching around the handle of his blade. Looking up, he faced his opponents before drawing his solid black katana with lightning striking in the background.

"You shouldn't have spoke those words in front of me," he growled out as a red aura surrounded him. "Now you shall fa**ce punishment**!"

With newfound speed, he stabbed his blade into the stomach of those men before ripping it out in a brutal manner, causing blood to leak out of the large wound.

"**One Sword Style: Demon's Archway**!"

Naruto channeled his chakra into his blade before swing it downward and slicing another in a bloody fashion. The blade cleaved into the earth and anything in front of it. Mei had taken the chance to jump out of the cave, allowing the Kitsune masked Naruto to handle them in a gory manner. At that moment, Chojuro and Ao jumped out from the shrubs with weapons drawn and eyes alert.

"Mei-sama, are you alright?" asked a slightly worn out Ao, in which Mei responded with a simple nod. "That's good to hear. Where is that Kitsune guy?"

"I wouldn't worry about him right now if I were you," spoke a voice behind them, forcing the three to turn to find a dozen MIST ninja from Kiri looking at them. "You're going to be busy with us."

During this time, Naruto had finished slicing the arms of another man before beheading them. His blade went through them like a hot knife cutting butter. Behind his mask, his eyes were no longer the soft, blue eyes but rather a menacing, dark red. All he felt was rage and anger, desiring to kill these abominations.

"W-Who are you?" asked one of his prey.

"**I am your predator. I am your judge. I am your jury,**" he stated as he raised his blade once more. "**And I am your executioner.**"

In front of him, the men held their makeshift weapons tightly as they watched the masked man approach them with his black blade drenched in their comrades' blood. They knew they were about to die and there was nothing that they could do to stop it but they could only hope for salvation. With a battle cry, they charged with weapons held high above them.

"**Water Release: Five Shark hunters**!" shouted Naruto as the water from the rain started to combine together to form five shark like structures before pointing them towards the charging mob of bandits. He just jumped forward with his blade at the ready and a savage grin etched on his face while his water sharks followed him into the massacre. Suddenly, the edge of his sword started to glow a mixture of red and yellow.

"**One Sword Style: Bladestorm**!"

With unmatched speeds, Naruto rushed forward with his glowing blades and started to hack and slash through the never-ending wave of bandits. Their movements were slow when compared to the Kitsune masked shinobi as his blade sliced in all kinds of directions at high speeds during his rush through the waves. Naruto emerged at the other side with his eyes looking down with his blood stained katana slowly entering his scabbard before an audible click was heard. It echoed throughout the cave and it caused the still bodies of the bandits to split apart into several pieces with blood and organs littering the earth. Naruto looked up to find that his water projectiles had engulfed and killed several more bandits, leaving a small group left.

"No way in hell am I staying here!" yelled one bandit in fear as he dropped his weapon before starting to run. The others started to do so as well but fate had other plans.

"**Leaving so soon?**" asked Naruto maliciously before channeling chakra to a seal etched on his slash, summoning forth a pair of Demon Windmill shurikens. "**Don't forget your gift bags!**"

Naruto launched his large projectiles at insane speeds so the retreating bandits were not able to move out of way. These whirling blades of death sliced through the bodies, launching their entrails everywhere. Soon silence ensued for Naruto with the soft sounds of metal clashing was heard in the background. He didn't notice the one bandit that had survived but that was the least of his worries. His red aura soon receded and from within his mask, his eyes returned to the blue eyes that they once were.

"W-What happened?" Naruto asked before spotting all the gore that was around him and made him sick. He quickly removed his mask and left the area before emptying his stomach.

"Did I do that?" he asked to himself with fear starting to emerge in his voice.

_'Naruto, calm down,' _replied Bahamut softly. _'it's going to be alright.'_

"Don't you get it!" he yelled angrily as tears fell from his face. "I killed them all and enjoyed it! There was no remorse! I killed them while they ran away!"

_'Naruto, you felt anger and drew out Kyuubi-sama's chakra,'_ stated Ares. _'You weren't in your right mind. There are some things in this world you won't be able to control and your emotions are one of those things. They are necessary for life.'_

_'Remember your promise,' _said Odin. _'You promised to protect your precious people. Those bandits that you killed have murdered, robbed, tortured, and raped innocents. By killing them, you prevent other innocents from enduring the same fate.'_

"But sensei-"

_'Naruto, you are heading to war and such acts of slaughter will be common,'_ grumbled Exodus. _'Steel your heart and hope that you can endure. War changes people and it will change you for the better.'_

"How do you know sensei?" asked Naruto softly as the rain pelted against him.

_'Because you have people who trust you, who believe in you to become the best,'_ replied Ares. _'And you won't let them down. Now let's go Naruto, a believe that your fiancé requires your aid.'_

With a small blush and a smile, Naruto rushed off into the distance with the rain pounding against his form. He knew that this was going to happen again and that troubled him but he pushed it to the side, focusing on now. And right now, there were people who needed his help.

Mei was tired, she knew that. She, Ao, and Chojuro had been fighting these MIST shinobi for quite a bit and it put her on edge. They were able to take down two of the twelve but it was taking their toll and had to resort to dodging and using defensive techniques in order to try and escape. It had been several minutes since they began fighting but to her, it felt like an hour. She just looked at the remaining members with her guards right beside her before flashing through several hand seals.

"**Lava Release: Lava Globs**!"

She spat out a series of molten balls at the pair before jumping back to dodge another assault of attacks. Ao locked blades with a MIST ninja with Chojuro clashing another pair. Mei just sighed before facing her opponents. However, she wasn't able to notice as water started to form around her figure.

"**Water Release: Water Prison**!"

"**Water Release: Water Fang Bullet**!"

**"Water Release: Trident Strike**!"

The water quickly rose around the woman and formed a spherical prison around her, incapacitating her movement before she got struck by on onslaught of water attacks. The water blobs struck her body before one hit her head, creating some disorientation. She could only close her eyes and wait for the next wave of pain, but when they never arrived, she opened her eyes to find that they stood still, motionless in the air in front of her prison.

"What kind of trickery is this?" roared one of the MIST before he grabbed the handle of his katana and drew it. "No matter! For crimes against the Fourth Mizukage that include treason, your sentence shall be death. I will be your executioner."

They charged forward with the intent of killing the woman inside the liquid prison. However, they never noticed a slight glint in the distance and Mei could only watch as they come for her. Unlike her attackers, she spotted the glint out of the corner of her eye and could only widen in surprise before quickly masking it. With a smile, she calmed herself before waiting for the right moment.

In the distance, Naruto jumped from branch to branch, being careful of the wet branches with his katana drawn and held in a reverse grip. He had felt Mei's chakra signature around this direction and decided to follow it. That was when he saw her trapped within a prison with several people aiming to kill her with water jutsus. He wasn't able to stop the first wave of attacks but was able to halt the next wave, which earned him confusion from the MIST shinobi. He quickly dropped his control over the water, forcing the still forms of liquid to fall to the ground. From his line of sight, he saw what the MIST were about to do and forced himself to move.

_'C'mon, c'mon, let me make it there,_' Naruto thought as he channeled chakra into his legs to speed up and some into his blade_. 'Make this count! __**One Sword Kinjutsu: First Dance of the Dark Slayers**__!'_

The MIST shinobi closed in for the kill but they weren't expecting a blur to emerge from the tree line. Whoever it was struck the liquid prison with such force that created an opening for Mei to escape out of. She jumped out before landing on the wet earth and then Kitsune appeared right beside her with his bloodied blade pointing at the MIST shinobi.

"This ends now!" he said.

"So Konoha is backing these traitors. Very well, you shall die as well," stated one of the MIST as they spotted the animal porcelain mask before continuing his charge. Naruto quickly blocked it before pushing him away.

"Would you really fight me alone?" he asked as Mei looked rather smug.

"What are you talking about?" asked the MIST before he looked behind to find that his comrades were laying in the ground with blood leaking from their bodies. Their motionless figures was enough to tell him that they were dead. As he turned, he felt a pain in his stomach.

"You should never look away," whispered Naruto as he leaned in to speak into his ear. "Especially to shinobi. You'll end up dead."

The remaining MIST shinobi could only stutter as he realized his foolish mistake and he knew that dead was imminent for him as the darkness started to creep along his vision. Naruto removed his blade from his gut, letting the body fall to the ground with a rather noisy splash. Mei just looked in shock at the amount of skill the ANBU had. She didn't want to believe what she just saw but he was able to take down more than half a dozen MIST operatives.

_'The Hokage wasn't lying then,' _she thought. _'He is one of their strongest. I would have been able to take them down normally but for some reason, I'm extremely tired today.'_

"Let's go Mei-san," said the Kitsune masked ANBU as he sheathed his bloodied blade back into its scabbard. "We should go and find your guards."

"That won't be a problem," answered a voice, causing both of them to turn around. Ao and Chojuro appeared in their sights, leaning against each other for support. Ao had slices along his side and shoulders while his clothes indicated a rough match against his opponent. Chojuro, on the other hand, had less severe injuries and was panting lightly. Mei just smiled at her subordinates before looking at Kitsune and the mystery that he was.

"We should move," he stated as he looked at her and noticed her about to argue. "I know that they are injured but we need to get away from here. Especially since the MIST found us. Chances are that they relayed a message to another squad before pursuing us. There might be a bigger chance of us encountering a bigger quantity of them and I know for a fact that we won't be able to handle them. We need to move. The farther away, the better."

Mei could only sigh in agreement. He was right and there was no point in arguing. Either they go through the night and have a good chance of staying alive or they stay here and rest with a greater chance of them being attacked and dead.

"We better move then," she stated to the group before walking towards their destination.

Unknown to Naruto, that one sole bandit that survived his massacre was able to reach a bounty station, one of many that littered Fire Country. He stumbled in, earning him the attention of everyone in it.

"What's wrong with you son?" asked one of the people watching him. "Where did you get all of this blood from?"

"M-My whole t-team got slaughtered," he stuttered out. "A-All 300 of us. D-Dead in a m-matter of minutes. S-So much b-blood..."

"Son, who are you talking about?"

"A-ANBU... K-Konoha... K-Kitsune...," stated the bloodied bandit.

"So you're telling me that a Konoha ANBU with a Kitsune mask wiped out a bandit attack squad in a matter of minutes," asked the man, earning a confirmation from the bandit. "I guess there's a new entry in the Bingo book today."

"I'm assuming he has the standard ANBU uniform-"

"N-No," interrupted the bandit. "Hooded jacket with vambraces... U-Used a solid black katana... At least ANBU rank in Kenjutsu... Reminded me so much of him."

"Who?"

"A legend. A myth. J-Jack the Ripper."

"Thanks kid. We'll get this information out."

With that, the bandit falls to the ground as he succumbed to his exhaustion. This was the birth of Kitsune, the Ripper of Konoha. Word of his prowess would spread quickly, reaching all of the small and minor villages.

_Off the coast of Fire Country_

It would be a matter of hours until the group of four exited the dense forests of Fire Country and find themselves on the cliffs with the seas raging underneath them as they crash against the earth walls. In the distance, they could spot a fishing village with several boats docked and a few floating out at sea.

"There's a port, we can take that to our base," stated Mei as she looked down at the boats. "It should take at least 3 days, 4 days at max until we reach Kiri."

"There is another way," stated Naruto as he looked at the broad amount of water that seemed endless. "It would take a few hours to reach the nearest island."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Not really."

"Ao!" scolded Mei before sending an apology to Naruto. "Be nice!"

"Back in my day-"

"Ao, shut up," muttered Mei as she looked at the man before turning to Naruto. "What is the consequence of using this method of travel."

"I'll be out of commission for a bit."

"Very well. We'll give you time to prepare."

Naruto walked towards the edge of the cliff before feeling the sea breeze tickle his face.

_'Rei-chan?'_

**'Yes Naruto?'**

_'Would you be able to help me in my crazy plan to use a Port jutsu to get to Kiri? I know I won't be able to use it on my own supply.'_

**'I would normal ask you not to do such a thing but knowing you, you'll do it anyway. Fine, I'll help but this will require both my youki and some of your other chakra.'**

_'It's going to take that much?'_

**'Of course you idiot! Holy and Chaos chakra are denser than your normal ones which means you'll be able to travel a little farther. But after this, you need to rest to refill your coils. I don't need you dying off on me, do I?'**

_''Thanks Rei-chan. I'll talk to you later and of course, I won't die. I promised you that I wouldn't and you know that I won't leave you alone.'_

**'Crazy blonde...'**

_'Love you too.'_

Naruto blinked his eyes before turning to find the trio standing behind him with interest. He just grinned as he spotted a ledge below him by about several feet. Without a word, he jumped down, causing the three to rush to the ledge, only to find him below them by several feet.

"Crazy bastard..." muttered Ao.

"C'mon! If you want to use my way, you're going to have to go down," stated Naruto, earning him a sigh before they jumped down to join him with Mei being the first one down. "How nice of you to join me."

"So how are we getting to Kiri from here?" asked Mei loudly as the sound of the waves crashing against the earth walls proved to be rather loud.

"Just follow me!" shouted Naruto before jumping down to another ledge before doing so again. Mei just looked at Ao and shrugged before following suit. It wasn't until they were extremely close to the crashing waves that Mei voiced her confusion.

"What are we doing here?" she shouted at the ANBU operative. Naruto just turned to her as a grin formed on his face before moving towards the edge of the ledge. He turned to her before giving her a mocking salute.

"You aren't going to..."

She wasn't able to finish her sentence as she watched him fall towards the blue ocean. As if a random coincidence, the ledge cracked before separating and started to fall along with Naruto with Mei, Ao, and Chojuro being forced to use chakra in order to stick on the rock. Naruto just turned his body towards the falling ledge before waving his hand in a way to tell them that they should join him.

"Ao! Chojuro!" she shouted over everything. "Jump! Let's join our ANBU friend!"

With that said, she released launched herself towards the blonde and started to fall right beside him. Ao and Chojuro could only sigh before following their leader. Naruto just nodded before his hands flashed through a sequence of seals at a high rate. As he reached the final seal, he felt every ounce of his chakra ranging from his normal one to Rei's youki and his Holy chakra and Chaos chakra being channeled around him.

_'Fifty... Fourty...Thirty...Now!'_

"**Water Kinjutsu Release: Aquas Port**!"

Suddenly, the sea water rose quickly and surrounded the four figures in a large sphere. The sphere fell with them into the depths of the sea until it was completely beneath the surface. Below the surface, the sphere started to glow brightly as it started to swirl around faster and faster with the brightness increasing until the light was blinding before disappearing in a sudden with its contents vanishing allow with it.

_Island Near Kiri_

Rain poured down from the heaves while the ground below just soaked in the falling liquid. The trees rocked from side to side against the harsh winds. Lightning struck from the skies above while the thunder roared from the heavens. Suddenly, a large sphere of water appeared in a bright flash of light before collapsing itself, dumping its contents, including four shinobi on the soaked earth. Mei was the first one to try and stand, spitting out water that was trapped in her mouth before looking towards her companions. Chojuro and Ao were laying right beside each other but quickly found out that they were knocked out.

With a sigh, Mei created two clones to grab her two guards before sending them off to find some shelter. It was a matter of seconds until she found Kitsune passed out and lifted him up before following her clones. She knew one thing, it was going to be a long night.

_Naruto's Mindscape_

The young Uzumaki felt his eyes opening, exhaustion was leaving him and found himself laying down. He tried to get up but found himself not able to, causing him to look down and find a large quantity of red laying on top of him. His arms were wrapped around something and he felt it radiate warmth before letting a small smile grace his lips. He unwrapped one of his arms before rubbing it on top of the bundle of red, earning him a small moan. It was felt like silk until his hands came in contact with something furry and sticking out from the rest. His eyes settled on the sight of several tails, nine of them to be exact, sprawled out in random directions with some of them being used as a blanket.

"It's time to wake up Rei-chan," whispered Naruto as he moved towards her ears.

The red haired vixen slowly stirred before turning towards the other direction. Her tail was acting as a make ship pillow and was trapped in her grasp while muttering unrecognizable words. Naruto just sighed before he started to shake the woman lightly, earning him a slap from one of her tails.

_'How could he tail hurt that dang much?' _thought Naruto as he rubbed the spot where Rei's tail had hit him. _'Oh yeah... Being able to create tsunamis with a swing of her tail. She's a deep sleeper. What could I do that would wake her without it resulting in inflicting large amounts of pain towards me? I could always... Nah, that won't work...Wait a minute...'_

Naruto just set a grin settle on his face before slowly moved towards the sleeping red head. He positioned himself so that his face was line up with hers. His eyes could only watch as her heart shaped face slept peacefully and all she could feel was happiness and satisfaction. Slowly, he inched towards her before his lips touched hers in soft yet loving kiss. It slowly deepened before Naruto's arms wrapped around the vixen's body.

Rei, however, was in wonderful dream world where she was laying down on a field of grass with the wind softly tickling her skin. She turned to her left to find Naruto lying right beside her with a smile etched on his face. He leaned forward, capturing her lips in heated kiss. However, she felt her world starting to fade slowly as she continued to look into those blue eyes. Suddenly, she knew it wasn't a dream anymore. No longer was she lying on the grass field nor could she feel soft breeze but she could still feel the soft yet heated kiss of Naruto.

Her eyes widened before she released her hold on her tail, allowing it to slip out before wrapping her arms around the blonde and pulled him close to her. They stayed that way for about a minute before pulling apart with a trail of saliva attaching their lips together. Using his finger, he broke it before giving Rei a smile. The vixen just looked at him before pushing him off of her.

"that wasn't nice Rei-chan," stated Naruto with a pout. "I thought you loved me."

**"I do love you, baka," **answered Rei, who pulled herself up before pulling the blonde up into a hug. **"I love you just the way you are."**

_"Hello there, Naruto," _greeted Ares and Velena as they spotted the blonde haired boy. _"How are you?"_

"Doing better I guess," replied the boy softly, causing Rei to hold him tightly. "Just trying to cope with how things went."

_"Enough of this talk," _said Bahamut. _"You're going to be going to war and because of that, we'll be lessening the amount of instruction that we'll give you. We can't always hold your hand and you should be able to rely on yourself to maintain your strength but we'll be here to help teach you things that you don't know about."_

_"Bahamut is right," _said Odin. _"We have given you the tools to become great but it's your job to make sure that you maintain and improve on the skills that you know right now."_

"Of course," replied Naruto, only to be tackled by Velena and Ares.

**"Velena! Ares! What have I told you about doing that?!" **scolded Rei as she looked at the two female spirits.

_"But Rei-sama," _ chorused the two. Naruto just rolled his eyes as the two removed themselves from on top of him. Naruto took that moment to stand back up and watch as the two female spirits cowered from the red haired vixen's glare.

**"No buts!" **stated Rei as she thumped their foreheads with a large amount of force, causing the two to rub their foreheads.

_"That wasn't nice Rei-sama," _complained Velena. _"We didn't do anything wrong."_

_"Except use those vocals of theirs," _muttered Odin, earning him soft chuckles from both Bahamut and Exodus.

"I was wondering," started Naruto, earning him the attention of everyone around him. "Since I have signed that joint summoning contract, would I able summon you?

_"That is a very good question," _answered Bahamut before pondering for a second. _"And honestly, I don't even know."_

_"Would it be possible for us to possess his shadow clones?" _questioned Odin as she looked at the dragon hybrid. _"Theoretically, our possession of them would make the clones more durable and give them a greater amount of chakra. Unless we're bound to the contract itself, thus making us summons."_

_"If we can try it out and find it successful, we would be able to do more damage during combat and be able to torture - I mean train you better," _stated Exodus, earning him a sigh from Naruto and chuckles from everyone else. Rei just watched the two elemental spirits bicker with each other with a predatory grin that Naruto caught at the corner of his eye. He watched as Rei moved towards Bahamut and Exodus before dragging them with her.

_"May I inquire as to what you are doing, Rei-sama?" _asked Bahamut as Rei dragged them towards the two female spirits. Rei let her grin grow before tossing the two towards the two females, causing much surprise. Bahamut landed on top of Ares and Exodus landed on top of Velena. As if planned, both pairs lips collided in a rather awkward kiss that left both pairs shocked.

**'Operation: Matchmaking is a success!' **thought Rei as her chibi self jumped in joy while she watched the two groups get up from their previous position with large blushes on their cheeks.

"I'll leave you to deal with this," stated Naruto as he pointed at the four spirits before spots his body starting to fade. "Looks like I've got to go."

**"Alright then," **replied Rei rather happily as she gave him a small peck on his cheek before he fully disappeared.

_Real World_

Naruto stirred slowly before opening his eyes. He shifted his body slightly before letting loose a large yawn. His arms slowly positioned underneath him and tried to push himself up only to little avail. He turned to examine his predicament to find that an auburn haired head was resting on his shoulder with bangs scattered everywhere. Letting a small smile grace his lips, he pushed the bangs away and caused her to stir. Mei opened her eyes to see the unmasked face of the Kitsune ANBU looking at her with a smile.

"How are you feeling, ANBU-san?" she asked before yawning out loud with her arms stretching out. "When we arrived here, you were already out cold and somehow, you were also able to knock out my two guards as well. I had to drag all three of you into this cave."

"And I thank you for that, Mei-san," replied Naruto as he stood up now that the woman had removed herself from being on top of his body. His hand grabbed his mask that lied right beside him and placed it on his face to cover his face before pulling up his hood. Just like Mei, he stretched out his sore muscles before moving towards the two knocked out shinobi and rapped both of their foreheads with quite a bit of force. The two immediately woke up to see the ANBU member above them.

"What was that for?" they asked rather angrily.

"Back in my day-"

"Ao, shut up or I'll kill you," stated Mei rather sweetly with an abnormally sweet smile that matched her tone with a contrasting aura radiating around her. That was all it took to shut the blue haired shinobi's mouth as he helped up Chojuro. Naruto took this moment to move towards the auburn haired woman that was still sitting on the ground before extending a hand towards her/ With a grateful smile, she accepted the hand and is pulled up from her current position before taking hte time to dust off the dirt that had accumulated on the bottom of her dress.

"Why thank you kind sir," she said playfully.

"It was my pleasure, milady," responded Naruto as he looked at her with a smile.

Something in Mei's heart melted as she looked at the smile aimed at her before she felt a rather warm sensation rushing to her cheeks. She immediately noticed it and what it was before moving away from the group in order to hide her blush. Quickly, her playfulness left and the group of four jumped towards their destination with the trees flying by as they sped through. The weather had lifted during their time asleep and all that was left was the blue skies with the bright sun hovering above them. While the water had stayed, it did little to affect them as they flew through the leaves at high speeds. Finally, they landed on the sandy beaches of the island. Mei just walked towards the shore and spotted the shape of another island quite a distance away.

"There's Kiri," she stated while pointing at it. "It should be another few miles until we reach it but the only way we could get there is by walking on water."

"Let's go then. The faster we get back, the better," replied Ao as he looked on in anticipation. Chojuro just nodded silently before looking at the female leader. Naruto jumped on to the calm seas before the others followed suit. They dashed through, ignoring the soft waves as they got farther out of the beach. Ao's single exposed eye widened as he noticed something.

"Mei-sama," he called out, earning him the attention of the female through their dash. "I sense a group of shinobi heading our way. I can't tell who they are but it seems that they are trying to intercept us."

"Probably more MIST," hypothesized Mei as her eyes narrowed. "We can't stop so I guess that means we'll just have to break through them!"

Ao and Chojuro quickly grabbed the handles of their respective blades, waiting to draw them and kill their targets. Mei's hands drifted to her pouch and pulled out a pair of kunais for her to wield while Naruto pulled a white crystal and held it tightly. A few minutes flew by with the island getting closer and larger in size.

'There's something wrong with the water,' thought Mei. 'It seems like there's chakra flowing in them... Wait...'

"Move!" she ordered, causing the group to split off in random directions just as a jutsu rang out.

"**Water Release: Engulfing Whirlpool**!"

The water below their former position started to swirl to form a large whirlpool at speeds that seemed faster than normal, natural whirlpools. Naruto took this moment to channel chakra into the crystal in his hand, causing it to glow white before exploding in a flurry of snow in order to reveal a large blade.

'What blade is that?' asked Mei before preparing herself for the fight ahead. 'Looks like I have more to ask him as soon as we get back to base.'

Naruto spotted the incoming shinobi and knew that the whirlpool was just a distraction. Soul Calibur pulsed as it rested in his hand before he looked at Mei.

"This is just a distraction!" he shouted over the roar of the whirlpool. "We need to get out of here!"

"That whirlpool is big! We'll need to go around it!" replied Ao.

"I'll take care of it!" roared Naruto before he lifted his blade above his head while it started to glow a light blue color before stabbing the tip into the water. "**Soul Calibur Release: Frozen Heaven**!"

As soon as the tip stabbed into the liquid, ice expanded in all directions as it froze a large quantity of the sea around them, including the whirlpool that had blocked their path.

"Now go!" shouted Naruto before he channeled more chakra into his large crystal like blade. "**Soul Calibur Release: Blizzard's First Coming**!"

He slashed his blade through the air, creating a frosty mist laced with heavy amounts of chakra towards the MIST shinobi coming towards them. He smiled before dashing towards the three shinobi. They would reach the beach within an hour as a soon as they entered the nearest forest, a thick mist fell on top of them.

"Ao, it's your turn," ordered Mei as she gestures the man to move forward. He walked to before removing his eye patch to reveal an eye without any pupils.

"**Byakugan**!" he cried out as the veins around his eye appeared. He motioned for them to follow him through the mist. The rustling of the grass and the often sounds of animals placed the blonde on high alert with his hand still handing Soul Calibur, ready for anything. Mei, Chojuro, and Ao never said a thing as they walked through the mist. A few minutes later, Naruto heard a rustling sound close to him and without a thought, a series of three senbons flew towards the thick mist. The sounds of the projectiles making contact with something solid echoed, earning him the attention of the other tree.

"What?" he asked them obliviously while the others just shook their heads in a disapproving matter. "The mist is putting me on edge."

"It's fine," answered Ao, understanding what he was talking about. He stopped walking, earning him the interest of the group. His hands flew through a few hand seals before thrusting his palm forward. The thick mist partially lifted to reveal an entrance where everyone rushed into before the heavy mist fell again. It was a large cave like entrance with the walls covered with occasional torches before they walk through the end of the tunnel.

"Kitsune," stated Ao. "Welcome to the Rebellion base."

Naruto just shielded his eyes from the brightness before blinking them in order to restore his vision. He took this moment to observe his surroundings. Along the walls were shinobi and kunoichi alike armed with weapons and traps. Farther into the large space, he could spot several buildings and fields with them going through their activities. From what he could see, the shinobi were wearing either blue or red vests. They were looking at them and Naruto could spot the relief in their stance as they spotted Mei.

"If you will now excuse me, Kitsune," said Mei. "I now have to go to the meeting with my generals to discuss further plans. Afterwards, I will come and fetch you so that you can meet them. In the mean time, you can be escorted and toured around the base or you can head to a nearby training field to use to your heart's content."

Naruto just smiled before nodding towards the woman. She, along with Ao and Chojuro, vanished in swirl of water while Naruto jumped towards the training field that he had spotted in the corner of his eyes. He looked at Soul Calibur, watching as it glowed before shrinking back to its small crystal state, before placing it on his lap. Looking around, he found a comfortable spot before sitting down. His eyes closed as he starts to ignore his surroundings.

_Mindscape_

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself staring into a bright white light. He quickly covered his face using his hand before reaching for the crystal on his lap, only to find it gone. That was when he looked up to find the light dying down to reveal Kami standing before him. His eyes widened significantly before he knelt before her.

_**"Naruto-kun," **_she stated, causing the blonde to raise his head in order to look at the woman. _**"You have become strong like I have asked. Now, I require your service."**_

"What is your bidding?"

_**"Naruto, I require for you to visit the Tomb of the Ten Guardians, protectors who fought to their last breath and buried in peace by an unknown God. But we respect their wishes and made it one of the most sacred of places but it is currently being defiled by the creatures of darkness. Slay them and protect the Tomb."**_

"It will be done."

_**" This place contains many secrets about the past, some of which should remain hidden for the rest of eternity for it may cause history to repeat itself."**_

"By your leave, milady," he stated as he turned and vanished from the goddess's sight.

_Real World _

Opening his eyes quickly, he grabbed the crystal that was laying on his lap before using his free hand to push himself up with the crystal transforming into the large blade he had become accustom on using. His eyes cleared and he found himself looking at a woman wearing a blue dress with long auburn hair. It took a few seconds for him to realize who it was he had his blade pointing at. It was Mei Terumi.

"I tried to get your attention," she said. "But it didn't work until a few seconds ago, leaving us in this situation. Though it could have been better without you drawing your sword towards me."

"Sorry about that," apologized the ANBU member as his large blade returned to its smaller state. "I tend to meditate a lot and you just caught me off guard."

"Well, now that I have your attention, we have to go," she said. "First, you're going to meet with my generals. They have stated that they want to test your skills even though I told them that you were able to take down several MIST with only your blade."

She grabbed his hand before the water around them started to move in a clockwise motion, swirling up until they were covered by it. It took a matter of seconds before the water slowly stopped and lowered back down to the ground, leaving no evidence of people being there other than two footprints.

On the other side of the make shift village, the water rose from the ground before falling down to reveal the two. Naruto just blinked his eyes once to clear it and the first thing he saw was the large table in the middle of the room with gruff and criticizing shinobi looking at him, almost gauging him. On the table was a large piece of paper that looked like a map with several small pieces. Alongside of it was a blue piece of paper and for the split second glance, he was able to tell it was a schematics of some sort. In front of him was a large burly looking man with a large sword hanging off his back and a large scar over his left eye. He had his Kiri headband wrapped around his arm while wearing a blue vest.

"Who's the kid?" he asked Mei, who moved towards them before looking back at the Kitsune masked ANBU.

"He's our reinforcements, Ragnor. So please behave," she stated.

"This short stuff is our back up?!" he asked with disbelief. "He wouldn't last longer than a few minutes out there. This is clearly an insult to our cause by the Hokage!"

"I would be careful what you say, Ragnor-san," said Naruto with an edge in his voice. "I am the Hokage's representative here as well as to fight for your cause. While I may be small compared to you, that doesn't make me anything less than dangerous. There is a reason as to why I am in ANBU. So, would you like to test your theory, big and ugly."

"Watch yourself, blondie," he threatened. "You don't want to mess with me. Arrogance can kill many men, you know"

"It isn't arrogance if you can't back it up and as for me," responded Naruto before vanishing into thin air before appearing right behind him with a kunai poised to cut his jugular. "That isn't the case. Of course, you could always ask the MIST that I sliced up."

"How about we settle this on the field then, shrimp?" he asked with anger radiating off of him in waves. The other generals around them were shocked at how the quickly the argument had escalated. Naruto just smirked behind his mask before cracking his knuckles.

"Why don't we take this outside then?"

They all walked to the nearest training field, earning them the attention of the nearby shinobi. The field was rather nice for being inside a cavern. There was a large lake with an island sitting comfortably in the middle of it. Scattered throughout the lake were small pillars to fit one person. Ragnor took the first move as he jumped to the nearest pillar before looking at Naruto.

"Ready for a beat down, green horn?" he asked arrogantly as he watched Naruto jumped on to another pillar before drawing the large blade that hung on his back. "_Chaos Reaper_ hasn't had fresh blood in a while. Yours will be a fine meal for him."

"That's if you can get me," responded Naruto before he charged with his vambraces at the ready. As soon as he was close enough, the two foot long blades shot out from their positions underneath the vambraces, making eyes go wide. However, Naruto wasn't expecting the clash of metal as his twin blades struck the large man's blade and jumped away.

"Where did you get those blades?" asked Ragnor. "Are you not honorable enough to fight me with your blade?"

"We're not samurai, we're shinobi," stated Naruto. "We have honor but in our line of work, honor can get you killed. So, shall we dance?"

Naruto charged forward with his arms out to his side and swiftly dodged all the swipes that the scarred man threw before spotting the angry man make a powerful cleave. A large explosion spread around the field as the sword made contact with the ground. Ragnor just walked out from the large dust cloud with a cocky grin on his face.

"Well, the kid had guts," commented Ragnor, ignoring the glares that were being sent his way. "Wasn't enough though. He didn't even make me break a sweat!"

"Really?" said a voice and everyone turns to find Naruto standing on the pillar. "Then why don't we step this up a bit then!"

"You asked for it kid," responded the swordsman, who started series of hand signs. "**Water Release: Piranha Assault**!"

Water from the lake floated up before rushing towards the ANBU member at fast speeds. From afar, it looked like small figures were jumping up and down like the small fishes. Quickly, Naruto jumped away before charging his hand with chakra.

"Let's see you deal with this, Ragnor!" shouted Naruto as wind started to swirl around his arm, making it glow a light blue color with a wind blade forming on his knuckles. "**Storm Edge**!"

All eyes were locked on the Kitsune masked ANBU member as he swung his chakra made blade to the ready before sprinting towards the incoming rush of water. The soft sound of the breeze soon increased in volume and transformed into a painful screeching sound.

"**Storm Edge: Phantom Strike**!"

Naruto's wind encased arm started to spin at insane speeds as sprinted forward. Suddenly, he vanished in a blur and in a matter of seconds, the oncoming liquid splattered everywhere, indicating that something made contact with it. With every explosion of water, a slash mark appeared on the ground until there was nothing left of the attack. At that moment, the wind blade disappeared and Naruto appeared out of nowhere with a smile behind his mask.

"Not bad blondie," complemented Ragnor before the edge of his blade started to glow an ominous blackish blue. "**Water Release: Night Slash**!"

Ragnor made several slashes, launching forth several waves of liquid. Naruto knew that he wouldn't be able to use any of his stronger defenses in order and he had limited room to dodge.

_'Naruto, use Hydra Defense,' _stated Exodus through their mental connection. _'That attack will penetrate all of your basic defenses. Just make sure to use about half of the amount of chakra that you normally use when using it. That should make it small enough to fit inside and still be strong enough to be able to block that attack._

Naruto just grinned before jumping back before his hands flashed through a long string of hand seals

"This is going to cut it close," muttered Naruto as he finished his chain of hand seals. "**Earth Release: Mud Hydra Defense**!"

The ground in front of the Kitsune ANBU rose just in time, successfully blocking the waves from hitting the boy. Steadily growing, the mound of mud grew more and more until it took the shape of a large dragon without any wings. However, it had three heads instead of the normal one and they all turned their heads towards the gruff looking man with its yellow eyes glaring into him. Giving a massive roar, the heads started to launch a volley of mud balls at the Kiri ninja in front of it. Ragnor could only watch and backpedal away in order to avoid being struck by the projectiles. Blobs of mud flew through the air and splattered mud in all directions. During this time, the generals were having a conversation with Mei.

"So what do you think about Konoha's shinobi now?" she asked rather sweetly.

"We have discussed with each other and have concurred that he is just as good as you have stated he was," responded one of them. "From what we have seen, he could be better than what you originally assessed."

"I believe he's holding back," added Ao. "From what I can see, that jutsu he just used could have more potential if he used more chakra in it. But he may have done so in order to keep it from either injuring us or destroying the place."

"Just because we said that he is strong doesn't mean that he is as strong as you say he is," commented another general wearing a blue vest as he watched the three headed dragon spit out more blobs at the scarred man. "That earth jutsu he used may be unknown but from what I have seen, it should be one of his strongest, if not the strongest jutsu in his arsenal."

"I disagree with you," interrupted Mei. "Remember that deception is a shinobi's greatest weapon and tool. He is using that to his advantage to make his opponents overconfident, which results in their downfall. That was what originally happened to Ragnor until he sobered up."

"I don't believe that," sneered another one of the generals, this time a man with a red vest. "If Ragnor can defeat that beast, then that ANBU will fall to his might."

"We shall see," she responded.

Down on the field, the large man leapt one more time to dodge another storm of mud and held his blade in front of him, ready to strike. Slowly, his blade was covered in a blue hue, indicating that he was channeling chakra into it before jumping towards the large creature. In a single chakra infused leap, he was above the beast with the blade swinging downwards.

"**One Sword Style: Executioner's Blade**!"

His blade swung down, releasing the pent up chakra, as he dropped down with his blade cutting through the large mound of mud. It took only a matter of seconds until he reached the ground before jumping back and a few seconds later, the dragon split in half with the mud splattering everywhere. With a grin, the large man lumbered to where the earth creature once stood and gave the blonde boy a large grin while shouldering his blade.

"Your pet is gone, blondie," he stated rather victoriously. "You've got nothing left, so it would be better for you to give up."

"What are you talking about ugly?" retorted Naruto before jumping back with his hands flashing through several signs. "I'm just getting started! **Water Release: Water Fang Bullet**!"

He spat out several medium sized water bullets from his mouth aimed towards the large man, who just used his large blade to slash through the condensed spheres of liquid with ease.

"Is that all you have against me?" he asked loudly. "Only strong in ninjutsu and nothing else? No wonder you can't beat me!"

"No," responded the young Uzumaki as he grabbed hold of the white crystal before channeling chakra into it to reveal the large crystal like blade and readied himself for the fight ahead. "Now shall we dance?"

With a savage grin, Ragnor charged with his blade already held high to strike. His blow was instantly blocked by Naruto, instigating a counter attack from the blonde. Their blades clashed, creating showers of sparks that splattered everywhere. The observers watched with interest as one of their own traded blows with an unknown shinobi.

"How is it possible?" asked one of the generals with great surprise. "It is known that Ragnor's blade is made of really durable metal. Add that with his strength, that ANBU's blade should have been destroyed by now."

"Not to mention that he's able to trade blow for blow with him," stated another. "However, it seems that he may be weakening his form is starting to loosen and knowing Ragnor, he will expose that greatly."

"I wouldn't count him out just yet," said Mei with a smirk. "I feel that the events about to occur will shock you all."

"Just from what I have seen, his worth to us may have increased," stated another of her advisors. "His skills in ninjutsu and kenjutsu alone are able to match Ragnor's. And from what you tell us, he is stronger than he lets on. I hope for our stake that you aren't overestimating his abilities and that he will be able to help us end this war."

Down on the field, Naruto blocked several mores strikes before lashing out several of his own. The large black haired man sent him another slash, creating more scratching against the black blade and echoing all around the field before the two pushed each other back. With one look, their hands were already in a blur as they flew through several hand seals.

"**Water Release: Toxic Bullet Storm**!"

"**Lightning Release: Feather Barrage**!"

At a fast rate, Ragnor spat out a series of green tinted liquid blobs at the ANBU member. Naruto countered as his hands charged with electricity before swiping the air around him. Little bolts of lightning formed with each movement, clashing with the liquid projectiles and exploding as they made contact with each other. The splatters of the liquid started to melt the earth around them and caused both to stop. However, that was only the beginning as Naruto started a series of seals and forced Ragnor to use another jutsu.

"**Earth Release: Mud Encampment Wall**!"

"**Fire Release: Great Magnus Shockwave**!"

Ragnor spat out a large amount of mud, forming a rather large and thick wall in front of him. It quickly thickened and hardened just as the great flames that Kitsune launched made struck it. Unfortunately for Ragnor, the earth barrier started to heat up to the point that is was liquefying.

"**Water Release: Water Encampment Wall**!"

Ragnor called forth the nearby source of water and formed a large liquid wall in between him and his melting earth wall. Unfortunately, the flames broke through the first obstacle and made contact with the water. The liquid quickly transformed into steam at a copious amount, creating a large white cloud. Ragnor was rather relieved as Naruto ended his jutsu.

Within the cloud, Naruto stomped his foot on the ground before extending his hands outward. The ground shook with sudden force before cracks started to appear. Steam erupted from the cracks, blowing away the existing cloud to reveal the pair with Naruto in his stance and Ragnor breathing rather harshly. With a palm facing upwards, the Kitsune masked ANBU raised it, causing lava to rise from the cracks and surround the large swordsman.

"I give," he stated as he watched the lava near him. "We don't want to destroy this place now."

The onlookers could only look at surprise as Ragnor was defeated by an unknown and when they spotted the animal mask, they could only gasp as they just identified the mysterious shinobi as one of Konoha's own ANBU. Naruto ignored the sounds and lowered his palm, drawing the lava back into the depths of earth before taking a kneel. Mei and the remaining generals jumped to the remains of the field.

"He's... good shinobi... Good for... Rebellion," panted Ragnor as soon as his associates were close enough to hear him. Mei just pulled up the ANBU member and engulfed him in a massive hug that plunged him into her large buxom. He frantically waved his arms and emitted muffles that no one could understand.

"Uh... Mei-sama," stated one of her generals. "You're suffocating him."

"Oops," she replied with a small smile before letting of the Uzumaki. "Sorry about that. Just got excited and all."

"It's... fine," he muttered tiredly. "Would you... happen to... have... a place... for me to... crash?

"I'll take you to your quarters," she stated before looking to her generals. "We'll talk later."

With that said, Mei placed her hand on Naruto's form before the two disappeared in a swirl of water. The quickly arrived in front of a door, which she opened for him. He replied with a tired smile before falling on to the inviting couch. He still had enough energy to talk to the woman and observe his surroundings. There was a rather large table off to the side with several scrolls on it along with scraps of food like sushi and rolls. There were two doors, one was closed and the other was partially open to reveal a rather untidy bed.

"Well, here we are," she stated with arms extended. "Your room is the one on the left with the closed door. It should be clean and all for you. I'll let you get settled then."

"Is there anyone else in this room other than me?" he asked her as he eyed the mess.

"Yup," she said rather cheerfully. "These rooms are rather big so there are about two or three shinobi per room. And as for your roommate... Well, you're looking at her."

"Wait... You're my roommate?"

"Yup! It's a sign of trust and plus, it doesn't hurt that you are just as strong as one of my generals, thus making you a good shinobi. The reason that you're in my room is so that we can talk more about important matters regarding the war such as plans and potential targets. The second is so that I can learn more about that face behind my mask since you look like a certain blonde I once knew."

Naruto had stood up during her exclamation before moving towards the woman and he could only stumble backwards as she leaned forward to show him some of her cleavage. She just walked forward, forcing him to the nearest wall. With an evil grin, she moved closer before making a lunge. In a desperate situation, the young blonde used the **Substitution Jutsu** with a nearby pillow. Mei looked down to find a white pillow trapped in her grasp instead of her original target, who was sweating behind his mask.

"But Kitsune-chan, Mei-chan just wants to play with you," she whined rather child like as she stalked towards him. "Come to Mei-chan, plushy-chan!"

"B-B-But Mei-sama," he stuttered out as the woman grabbed him and pulled him her grasp. "W-Wouldn't the o-others question your a-actions?"

"Don't call me -sama!" she stated rather irritably before turning the ANBU to face her. "And like I said, this is so we can get better acquainted. Plus, no one would dare to interfere with the work of their leader now that we have a strong ally. Anyway, before you go crash, I would like to congratulate you on defeating Ragnor."

"How is he a general?"

"It is because he used to be one of the best swordsmen in Kiri with the exception of a handful and the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. His arrogance has led him to losing a large amount of men during fights and his times in the rebellion has resulted in his skills dulling. Once upon a time, he had skills that would easily defeat you but now, he is about the same in skill as you."

"How strong is he when compared with everyone else?"

"He's about my weakest general based on leadership but one of the best in strengths. I am on top of the list since I wouldn't be the leader unless I am that strong. After me is Kestia. She is one of only two generals, excluding myself. Her skills would easily trump yours but she isn't strong enough to take down the Mizukage. Now, why don't you go and sleep? You must be exhausted after everything you had to do today."

With a small smile, she let go of the blonde and gestured to his room. Naruto opened the door to find it clean and tidy. He took off his mask before pulling his hood down and just fell on to the bed. Energy quickly left him as he found darkness rocking him to sleep in a matter of seconds.

_Mindscape_

Opening his eyes, Naruto felt something smooth and furry rubbing along his sides before moving downwards. The feeling slowly traveled down his legs, growing until it reached his feet. Naruto quickly tried to pull his feet up, only to find himself unable to do so before laughing uncontrollably. He looked down to find Rei using some of her tails to hold his feet in place while the others softly rubbed the bottom of his feet.

"Rei...Haha... Please stop!... Haha... Please!" he cried in between his fits of laughter. Rei just continued on rubbing his feet while climbing on top of the blonde. Seeing this, Naruto shot his hands towards her but fail to see two more of her tails wrap around them.

**"What is it that you want, Naruto?" **she asked rather innocently before looking him straight in the eyes while her tails continued with their previous actions. Naruto tried to control his laughter before it became unbearable, causing him to explode in a cloud of white smoke. Rei was surprised by this and she tried to turn, only to find herself unable to move.

"Rei-chan, you have been a very naughty girl," whispered a voice by her ear before nibbling it. "I should punish you for that."

Rei continued her attempt to turn and face the speaker, only to find herself unable to. Suddenly, she felt something soft rubbing her feet and her tails were unresponsive to her desires to remove it. Her willpower soon gave in as she started to laugh uncontrollably, causing her to look down to find Naruto rubbing her feet with two feathers.

**"So unfair... Haha... Naru-chan... Haha," **she gasped out in between her laughs. Naruto took this as a sign to stop before looking at her with a victorious smirk while Rei tried to control herself and trying to sit up.

"What was that for?" he asked her rather playfully.

**"Don't really know. Just a spur of the moment really."**

He just watched at the red haired woman to find her skipping towards her intended destination, making him smirk uncontrollably. Rei had felt a small shiver go down her back and turned to find a grin on the blonde boy's face.

**"I don't like that smirk, Naruto," **she stated worriedly. **"What are you up to?"**

"I wonder what the other Bijus would think when they hear that the great Kyuubi Kitsune was skipping because of me," he stated with a growing smirk as he watched Rei's eyes grow in fear. "Don't worry, I won't tell them."

**"Naruto," **she said rather seriously as she looked at him. **"I have talked with the other spirits and we have decided that we will begin to teach you one of the more dangerous jutsus of our elements. I know that we stated that we wouldn't hold your hand, but you're in a war. War doesn't choose any sides."**

_"And I have a feeling that you will need Zantetsuken soon," _said Odin as he appeared from the shadows. _"So we will start the next stage of the stances. You will have to train and master the moves I have taught you by yourself. I expect them to greatly improve the next time we meet."_

"Wouldn't it be more logical for me to fine tune the skills that I already have," he asked. "I mean I would love to learn new skills and all but I think that I should work on what I do know so far."

**"Naruto, fine tuning a jutsu of any rank requires experience that you lack," **Rei stated sagely. **"Those sort of things are like reducing how many seals you use in order to use the jutsu and being able to reduce the amount of chakra that you use but still having the same outcome. From what we have seen, you have become good with the jutsus that we have taught you but now, it is up to you to use them in the real world."**

_"What we're trying to do is make you more flexible in your skills," _stated Bahamut rather informingly. _"You are good at your skills right now but with the possible opponents that you could face, being flexible is a good choice as it allows you to adapt to the situation."_

"I guess that we'll be doing that then," muttered Naruto rather sheepishly.

_**"I agree with that plan as well," **_stated a serene voice. Everyone turned to find a bright light pulse before disappearing rather quickly to reveal Kami in all of her glory. She walked towards the group with a smile as she looked at them.

_**"Naruto, the task I have set upon you may take you longer than you believe. There is a storm brewing, something that hasn't been felt for many centuries," **_she stated rather seriously with a sad expression. _** "My sisters, Shinigami and Yami, are trying their best to slow down this storm from expanding but I fear that even they will not be able to. It will test you in ways that you cannot hope to ever imagine. The Tomb is only one of the many places where we have felt the storm."**_

"What is this threat?"

_**"Not even we know..."**_

**"If I may ask Kami-sama-" **started Rei, only to be stopped as the goddess flicked her forehead rather harshly.

_**"How many times have I told you not to call me that? Several over the years we've known each other," **_she said irritably before looking at Naruto. _**"And you! Just because I'm not talking to you doesn't mean that it doesn't apply to you! Naruto, I swear, if you call me that, there will be pain..."**_

"O-Of c-course!" squeaked Naruto, earning him a childish smile from the woman. "As you wish..."

The goddess could only smile at him coyly before spotting the boy starting to fade away into the darkness. She knew that it was time for her to go as well, as much as she wanted to stay here.

_**"Well, it looks like you're leaving Naruto," **_she stated rather blandly. _**"And it's about time for me to head back and do goddess work. Making sure worlds don't explode and all that jazz. I'll see all of you soon."**_

With that, the goddess disappeared in a flash of light that blinded everyone for a split second. Rei was able to regain her vision of Naruto just as he disappeared, leaving her with soft frown.

_Real World_

His cerulean eyes opened to the sight of blue ceilings before he sat up on the comfortable bed he laid on. His arms stretched outwards as he released a rather large yawn before sliding his feet out of his bed. He looked around to find the blue walls still around him while his feet felt comfort as they were placed back into his normal combat boots. Since they were underground, he couldn't tell what time it was but he honestly didn't care. That was when he felt something different.

'There's no one here,' he thought as he quickly grabbed his katana and drew it from its scabbard. 'Mei didn't mention anything about leaving and it's too quiet around here. Before I went to sleep, there were loud amounts of commotion.'

Silence ensued until the soft sounds of footsteps reached his ears before silence reigned once more. He slowly opened his door a little bit to peer at the outside, watching as the door that lead outdoors opened slowly. From the covers of black, several figures entered the room, wearing nothing but pure black that covered everything but parts of their head. From what he could see, they were panting lightly, indicating that they had partially exhausted themselves to get here.

"Are you sure that the rebellion will end when we kill this Terumi bitch?" asked one of the black clad men. "Will the Fourth be victor?"

"Yes. That woman has led every movement against the Fourth and she is the reason as to why this rebellion still stands. They've been growing in strength and soon, they will tear this country apart. We cannot allow that," stated another before cursing under his breath as he tapped something near or placed on their ear. "Damn it. I'm not getting any response from the other teams. It looks like we're on our own. I didn't expect the security to be as high as this. Let's just take her out and be done with this mess."

"I think not," answered a voice from the shadows in front of the group. "You won't be able to do that while I'm here."

Naruto had escaped his room but not before covering his face with his Kitsune mask. He appeared right before them like a ghost and watched as they tensed. They spotted the blonde hair on top of the figure before noticing how short he was when compared to them along with the animal mask that covered his face.

"Go home kid," one of them stated. "This war will end soon with the Fourth as the victor and he will bring Kiri back to its former strength as one of the greatest hidden villages. Terumi will die today, we swear to that."

"You'll have to get past me first," stated Naruto rather confidently but in reality, he was nervous. From what he could tell, these people were strong and judging from their posture, they were high up in the tree. He held his blade at the ready and steeled himself for the oncoming fight, completely ignoring the chuckles that his opponents were giving him.

"Kid, do you really expect to be able to beat an experienced MIST Captain, much less eight of us?" he asked rather arrogantly as he walked forward. "Now why don't you put your blade away? They don't belong in the hands of a child like you. They aren't toys you know."

"I don't think you understood what I said," stated Naruto as he watched the man close in. "I told you that I'm not going to allow for that to happen."

The MIST Captain couldn't help but chuckle before trying to push the blonde boy away, only to feel a sharp pain originating from his stomach. He looked down to find the black katana that was in Naruto's hands to be imbed in his stomach with his blood leaking in large amounts. He tried to back away, only for Naruto to push the blade deeper into him and preventing him from moving. Naruto looked into the captain's eyes and watched as the life slowly drained from them. The others could only watch in shock as one of their own died but that quickly left and was replaced with anger.

"Kill the brat!" shouted another of the men as he drew his weapons in rage. Naruto could only dodge the incoming swipes at him from the seven remaining assailants as he could barely lash out an attack from the quantity of attacks coming from him. However, his strikes were true as they made contact with flesh. One by one, each one of the captains obtained a form of a wound.

"Just stand still, you little bastard!" shouted one of the captains as he launched a series of slashes at the boy, only to find him gone.

"Behind you!"

He turned to find the boy standing behind him with his blade in its motion of stabbing him. The motion was quick and efficient as the blade stabbed right through his stomach before being pulled out and cleaved the man's head off. Spotting another man charging him, Naruto moved out of the way before thrusting his palm where his heart would be. From the underside of his vambrace, the long yet sturdy blade shot out and pierced the vital organ before being pulled out, blood flowing out of the wound in large quantities. The remaining five just watched cautiously as the body of one of their own falls to the ground in a thud.

"He can't defend against all of us if we attack him all at once," stated one of the MIST captains, causing the others to agree before charging. They weren't expecting the blonde to be ready as he grabbed the tanto of one of the fallen shinobi. His katana was able to block the first few strikes, allowing Naruto to strike with the smaller blade. It sliced through someone's arm before imbedding itself in the gut of the aggressor. Naruto tossed the tanto in the air before blocking a strike with his katana and then sending him back with a kick. His hand shot up and grabbed the tanto before throwing it at an unexpected target. It made impact with a sick sound before the loud thud echoed as the body fell.

"Let's get out of here!" stated one of the three remaining MIST. "It's pointless to die here for nothing!"

"No! We need to fight!" retorted another as he watched the boy with blood soaked weapons. "This will end the war!"

"We don't even know where she-"

They weren't able to finish their conversation as the wall behind them exploded, causing rumble to fly in random directions. Naruto took this opportunity to take down the remaining three assailants as he jumped into the air. His black katana stabbed through one of their throats before he released it. Using his tanto, he turned and slammed it into the skull of another. That was when he felt something cold touch the back of his neck.

"You're good," stated a voice behind him. "But this is your end. You chose the wrong side and now, you will pay for it. Face your de-"

The voice never finished as Naruto heard a body hit the floor with a rather large thud, causing the boy to turn. He found the last MIST laying in a pool of blood with his body bisected in half before looking at the hole. There in all of their glory was Mei with a kunai in hand along with Ao, who's blade was bloodied.

"Kitsune, are you ok?" asked Mei with concern as she watched the boy pick himself up before reacquiring his katana along with the tanto.

"I'm doing fine," he replied rather tiredly. "It was a group of eight MIST captains and they were here to kill you. All of their bodies should be here."

"Thank you Kitsune," replied Mei as she made a mental count of the dead bodies. "We spotted them earlier and were able to eliminate the other groups except for this one."

"They didn't seem to be strong like ANBU captains. I would have assumed that they would be just as strong as them," observed Naruto. "They were too easy to anger and kill."

"From what we have discovered, they aren't even MIST. They just look the part but aren't as good as them."

"Thank you for helping me though," he muttered as she gave him a smile. "If don't mind, I'm going to go freshen up and change. This blood is hard to clean if it dries."

Mei just nodded her head and watched as the young Uzumaki walked to his room before silently closing the door. Ao had taken this moment to walk up beside the woman.

"He's a mystery, Ao," she stated to the man. "His eyes hold so much innocence and yet he's forced to commit acts that some mature men would be hesitant to do. He looks... young. Child like even."

"Do you think that he's a prodigy?" asked Ao.

"No... He acts more mature than most children yet more immature than most adults. It's like he's a mixture of both..."

"In time, we'll be able to know. Only in time."

"You're right Ao but time can be our friend and our enemy at the same time. Let's pray it's our friend."

_Rebel Training Ground_

Naruto had changed to his custom ANBU attire with his weapons polished and clean of any blood before leaving the room. He traveled to the nearest training ground with hopes of being able to train his skills before he had to meet with Mei and her generals before meeting with his senseis' to learn new skills. With a sigh, he prepared himself before drawing his katana and stabbed it into the ground as he reviewed on the conflict earlier of the day.

'Looks like I'll need to get accustomed to using a tanto with my katana,' thought Naruto as he drew the tanto from its sheathe on the back of his belt. 'And I'll have to see if I can find one of better quality. This one is off balanced and is rather worn...'

He was brought out of his thoughts as a group of blurs out from the shrubs and landed in front of him. With a quick examination, he found the group to consist of people he didn't know except of one, who was Ragnor. There were two women in the group and one of them moved forward with a small smile on her face.

"Greetings, Kitsune," she stated before extending her hand.

"Hello," he replied back as he gave her a handshake. "Though may I inquire who you may be?"

"Mei-sama might have mentioned me before but my name is Kestia, one of her generals. The people behind me contain all of the generals and advisors for Mei. The reason we are here is because you have impressed us with your skills when you fought Ragnor."

"Kestia-san, you and I know that my win over Ragnor isn't something to fawn over. From what she told me, he is one of your weakest, if not the weakest, general here," he stated, ignoring the angry look that the mentioned man was sending him. "I won because he got angry and was overconfident over the years to the point that he didn't continue to refine his skills. So let me ask again. Why is someone of your caliber paying attention to a lowly shinobi like me?

"You beat a general," she stated simply. "That is something that the people will hear and knowing that there is a shinobi who is strong enough to do so will increase their moral."

"So what do you want of me?" asked Naruto before he felt something coming towards him, causing his eyes to widen. Kestia noticed it along with some of the other generals as their eyes widened before giving Naruto a nod. They all disappeared in blur, leaving a small group of shinobi. The blonde boy lifted his palm around his waist before a small ball of flames started to form around his hand. A red aura started to cover his arm with the flames growing larger.

"Get out of m**y way! NOW!" **he shouted as his voice became more demonic. The small group of shinobi jumped out of the as a rustling sound echoed. From the nearby entrance, several blurs exited and landed on the ground in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the shinobi wearing green combat vests with their Kiri headbands.

**"Loyalists!" **he roared. **"Attack me if you wish but doing so shall result in your end!"**

"He's bluffing! He's only one of these pitiful rebels! He cannot hold against a legion of Kiri shinobi!" shouted one of the loyalist shinobi as he drew one of his weapons. "Kill him!"

With roars of approval, the shinobi jumped towards the blonde, who looked at them with a harsh glare behind his mask. He reared his flaming hand back before pointing it towards the oncoming army.

"**Fire Release: Pulse Nova**!"

The large ball shot from his hand at high speeds and flew towards the oncoming shinobi. Some played no heed to it as they charge on but most of them jumped out of the way of the projectile. Anything the ball touched instantly ignited, consuming several bodies with furious flames. They weren't expecting Naruto to already finish up the seals for his next jutsu.

"**Fire Release: Grand Nova Explosion**!"

The red ball started to pulse more and more as it flew before exploding. Red light shined all around while the screams of pain echoed for all to hear. It died down after a few moments to reveal a large crater with dark red flames scattered all around while the dead bodies littered the earth. There were many shinobi that had been able to escape the blast and they had regrouped farther back, looking at the kitsune masked shinobi.

"**Water Release: Exploding Water Spears**!"

"**Water Release: Twin Hydro Cannon**!"

"**Water Release: Rising Geyser**!"

Water formed around all of the attackers as they readied themselves for their assault. Several had the liquid form around their hands, shaping into stick like weapons with a sharp pointy end while others had rather medium sized water balls form on their hands. The remaining people stomped the ground, causing several pillars of water to shoot out from the ground. With a loud roar, they all launched their attacks as the water all swirled towards blonde boy and made impact, throwing the earth into the air. The blast made a large crater with the attackers ending their jutsus

"That got him for sure!" stated one of the attackers with a smirk. "He should have ran away while he had the chance."

"That's for sure," replied another. "Let's go! We've got a war to the end!"

They were about to leave when they felt a large amount of weight slam against their shoulders. They turned to find the Kitsune masked ANBU looking a little bit ruffled but nothing else. Behind his mask, Naruto held a smirk as he pulled the fang of his necklace and channeling his chakra into it. In a red flash, the large blade was in his hand and he laid it on his shoulder. It was rather menacing to anyone who hadn't seen it before and as soon as they prepared themselves, the water sprawled everywhere came to one position before swirling around and quickly dispersed to reveal an auburn haired woman that Naruto all too well.

"Kitsune-san," she greeted with a nod before looking at the large group. "I see you have engaged the Loyalists as well."

"Mei-sama," he replied back as he steadied his blade. "Some of them are already dead but the rest are about to become plant food. Have they been sighted anywhere else?"

"Yes. They have breached several sectors of the base."

"There's a group of your shinobi over there, you can send them to some of your sectors to reinforce them," stated Naruto as he gestured to the group of shinobi wearing red or blue vests.

"That's good," she answered back before giving the group a nod, causing them to disappear. "Well, since I'm here, I might as well help you out. That way we can help clear the other parts of this place."

"The more the merrier."

"**Lava Release: Magma Dragon Twister**!"

Mei spat out a large amount of lava with the viscous substance taking shape of a large dragon. Naruto, on the other hand, twirled his blade before pointing it at his targets. In a span of a few moments, the dragon shot forward as it opened its mouth, launching a swirling cone of lava that consumed everything in its way.

"**Force Edge Release: Makai's Assault**!"

The large fang like blade glowed blood red before Naruto stabbed it into the ground, causing it to open a rather large chasm. From the break, magma started to climb up and started to take the shape of beasts that no one had ever seen before armed with swords, whips, and the other unconventional weaponry.

"Let's dance!"

**A/N: Here you y'all are. Anyway, please review and comment on the story. No flames though. They are not cool. Anyway, like always, here's a preview or rather two previews of the next chapter.**

"Hokage-sama, I think you might need to see this," said a man as he moved towards the Third Hokage.

"Well, how important is it to interrupt some of the free time that I have?" the old man asks the ANBU Captain. "You know what my free time means to me, Kakashi."

"Very important," Kakashi replied seriously, convincing the Sarutobi to put up the personal privacy and silencing seals that Naruto had made for him before his departure. "It concerns us greatly because… well, I'll let you read this."

"**We are a few hours away from the Tomb,"** the shadow stated before turning to face the darkness.

"I can feel the aura of something big coming in this direction."

"**I fear we may to be too late for the beast might be unleashed upon this world once more…"**

"What is this beasts name?"

"**The Kraken…"**


	8. Chapter 8: Defend the Base!

Chapter 8: Defend the Base! Search for the Tomb!

**A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait! College has started for me but I will not be stopping writing this story. It is one of my most elaborate and my favorite. I have much in store for this.**

**If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a PM or write a review. I'll make sure to answer them in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the creative required to make this piece.**

_Previous in Fate of One: The Elements_

_"Kitsune-san," she greeted with a nod before looking at the large group. "I see you have engaged the Loyalists as well."_

_"Mei-sama," he replied back as he steadied his blade. "Some of them are already dead but the rest are about to become plant food. Have they been sighted anywhere else?"_

_"Yes. They have breached several sectors of the base."_

_"There's a group of your shinobi over there, you can send them to some of your sectors to reinforce them," stated Naruto as he gestured to the group of shinobi wearing red or blue vests._

_"That's good," she answered back before giving the group a nod, causing them to disappear. "Well, since I'm here, I might as well help you out. That way we can help clear the other parts of this place."_

_"The more the merrier."_

_"__**Lava Release: Magma Dragon Twister**__!"_

_Mei spat out a large amount of lava with the viscous substance taking shape of a large dragon. Naruto, on the other hand, twirled his blade before pointing it at his targets. In a span of a few moments, the dragon shot forward as it opened its mouth, launching a swirling cone of lava that consumed everything in its way. _

_"__**Force Edge Release: Makai's Assault**__!"_

_The large fang like blade glowed blood red before Naruto stabbed it into the ground, causing it to open a rather large chasm. From the break, magma started to climb up and started to take the shape of beasts that no one had ever seen before armed with swords, whips, and the other unconventional weaponry. _

_"Let's dance!" _

_Start of Chapter 8_

Explosions rocked the large network of underground caverns as the sounds of conflict echoed throughout the place. From the highest point, two shinobi overlooked the fighting as they watched spark emerge from the striking of metal while hearing the sounds of anguish of the dead as their comrades fight over their fallen forms. Bloodied and worn, the figures, a male with a Kitsune mask and an auburn haired woman, looked at the large battle calculatingly before looking at each other. With a nod, both of them jumped off the point as they headed for the dense fighting with the sounds of pain echoed in their ears. Kitsune held his blood covered katana at the ready while Mei readied herself with her hands ready to fly through seals.

Naruto spotted something out of the corner of his eye before he repositioned himself so that he would be able to land on his feet. Several green clad shinobi flew by under him and at the speed Naruto has falling, he was able to grab two of them. His bloodied black katana pierced through the body of the first shinobi while the second tried to recover from being struck by an arm. The three figures crashed into the ground in a small cloud of dust that was quickly blown away to reveal Kitsune stabbing his blade into the second shinobi before they could get up.

"That was an interesting pick off," stated a feminine voice right beside the blonde. "Though we should probably go. There are several positions nearby that require our help."

"Well, that's two less that they will have to fight, Mei," stated Kitsune before he spotted a group of Loyalist shinobi charging them. "And it looks like there's more for us."

The Konoha ANBU member sliced his way through the armed crowd with weapons, painting his covered body with familiar red liquid. Mei had drawn a pair of kunai out and started to do the same thing. Bodies started to pile up in large quantities and it wasn't long before the pair were dancing on top of the small mounds of them.

"Kitsune! Behind you!" warned Mei as she blocked another strike aimed for her before dodging another. Naruto was able to turn in time to spot the oncoming attacker and dodge. However, he wasn't able to completely get away as the tip of the blade sliced through his clothing and made a decent sized cut along the flesh under his ribs. He hissed in pain before thrusting his free hand at the attacker, stabbing them with the hidden blade. Seeing the ANBU wounded seemed to increase the aggressors moral, even though that there were a few of them left, and they pressed forward with blades at the ready.

Naruto could feel exhaustion spreading throughout his body as he forced it to work and move at high paces. His blade started to cut through the bodies but his exhaustion was taking its toll as several more cuts appeared on his body with his blood mixing in the blood of the fallen. However, it quickly came to an end as his blade sliced through the body of the last of the group. Naruto turned to find that Mei was in a similar situation as him with exhaustion and wounds starting to wear their bodies down.

"How are your wounds?" asked Mei softly as she examined the medium sized one on his body. "That one looks rather serious."

"I'll be fine," muttered Naruto as he took a moment to rest before turning to face the woman. "There are more people that we need to help."

"Don't push yourself too much. We just took about half a battalion of shinobi," she replied back before looking up. "Let's move to the top of that building and see if we can find anyone else."

Naruto nodded to her before sheathing his katana into his scabbard. The two jumped up and were quickly able to reach the top of the building. They weren't expecting to find a small group of four shinobi to be up there but they were quickly taken down with some kunais to their hearts and head. Quickly, they started to scan the large cavern to find any place of conflict but were quickly drawn to a scene nearby at a clearing. There was rather large man with a bloodied blade stabbed into the body of a shinobi with a few dozen identically clothed shinobi surrounded him.

"Surrender rebel scum!" ordered the obvious leader of the group. "There is nowhere for you to go! Lay down your weapons and we will offer you a quick, honorable death!"

"I sure like the sound of that," stated the man before he spat out a glob of blood. "But I prefer the sound of freedom from the tyranny of the Fourth Mizukage! I chose to die on my feet then live on my knees!"

"Kill him!" roared the leader as he watched the large man rip his blade from the dead man it was imbedded in. They moved to attack, only to be blown away as a massive shockwave emerged in front of them and caused everyone to look at the source. Right beside the large man was another shinobi with a Kitsune mask. His body was covered with blood while cuts littered his body.

"It seems that you need some help Ragnor," he stated only to receive a chuckle from the large man. "Why don't I help you out for a bit then?"

"Go for it," stated Ragnor as he lifted his blade. "Make sure to leave some for me. She's yearning for their blood."

"No promises," replied Naruto as he grinned rather savagely. "Why don't you go and regroup with the others."

"Fine," he responded begrudgingly before moving away. "But you better not die here."

"I won't die. Trust me. Now get out of here!"

"You say that you can single handedly take down a whole legion of Kiri shinobi?" questioned one of the shinobi. "My group is one of the few that was tasked to assault this location because we were trained by the Mizukage's best. In the end, the Mizukage will win the war!"

The others around him cheered in agreement as they formed something akin to a firing line facing the kitsune masked ANBU member. With weapons drawn, the Loyalist jumped towards Naruto with arrogant grins plastered on their face. Naruto positioned his black katana at the ready as he watched his aggressors fly through a series of hand seals.

"**Water Release: Rising Geyser**!"

The earth began to shake with a violent amount of force while cracking the surrounding areas of soil before several pillars of water rose from the depths of the planet. It narrowed his vision as the liquid started to drench his entire being and soaked the ground. Blood started to run down his blade as it was cleaned by the water. The other Loyalists took opportunity of the water source as they called out their next wave of attacks.

"**Water Release: Aqua Blast**!"

Several shinobi jumped forward with liquid swirling on the palms of their hands to form large balls of water. The spheres continued to grow larger and larger until they were twice the size of their hands in a matter of seconds before pointing them at the ANBU member. They launched at him at a fast pace with numerous amounts while the second line of shinobi prepared the next wave of attacks.

"**Water Release: Hydrian Twister**!"

Several of the shinobi launched themselves forward before motioning with their hands into a large ball that hovered in between the palms of their hands before thrusting it out, launching a large liquid tornado from each shinobi. The water eventually swirled together to form a massive version that screamed towards the blonde ANBU. All of the liquid attacks made impact and brought forth a large cloud of dust and debris.

"Haha! He couldn't handle those attacks," shouted one of the shinobi. "Let's move! Our target is getting away! We need to capture Swordsman General Ragnor!"

"So that's your objective?" asked a voice rather incredulously before making themselves known as the large dust cloud disappeared to reveal Kitsune, causing the Loyalist to look at him with disbelief etched in their eyes. "Those attacks were weak compared to those I have endured before and if you want to capture the good general, well... you're going to have to go through me."

"I've had enough of this nonsense! I'll deal with you once and for all!" shouted the obvious leader of the group before turning to the rest of his group. "All of you go ahead! This won't take too long."

With an affirmative, the Loyalist shinobi started to jump forward with their objectives clear, only to be stopped by Kitsune as he jumped forward with his black katana sheathed into its scabbard and a white crystal in his hand. It glowed brightly before transforming into a large white crystal blade.

"Like I said," he started rather menacingly. "You aren't going anywhere until you get past me. And trust me when I say that you are not going anywhere since none of you are going to get through me."

In an instant, he rushed forward with his hands on his large blade and using his strength, he made a large horizontal slashing motion, slicing through the bodies of several Loyalists with the blood running down the blade from the tip to the hilt. His blade sliced through the endless sea of bodies with the red liquid freely flowing from the wounds. In an intricate dance of death, Naruto found himself twirling through the countless shinobi with his blade stabbing through them.

With a wave of his blade, he sliced through the bodies of several shinobi jumping towards him and caused their bodies to fall to the ground in an undignified manner. His eyes narrowed as he tightened his grip around his large blade before pulling it out of his most recent kill.

'Sixty down,' he thought as he prepared himself for the next wave of attackers. 'A whole lot more to go. I better use something to finish this fast so I can help the others out...'

**'Be careful Naruto,' **stated Rei as she opened the mental link between them. **'I don't want you to die on me.'**

'You get worried so easily and way too often,' he thought back with a mental chuckle as he deflected another wave of projectile weapons thrown at him before he heard the sound of the vixen growling at him. 'Don't worry, I don't plan on dying anytime soon'

**'Just don't do anything reckless or stupid,' **she stated, only to get silence in return. **'Naruto...'**

'I'll try not to do anything that'll get me killed,' he thought back as he jumped backwards to dodge another attack. 'But that doesn't mean that I won't do it, I'll just try not to die in the process.'

**'Naruto!' **she shouted, only to be cut off as the blonde ANBU member felt a foot plant into his gut and push him backwards, causing him to groan in pain. **"Are you ok?'**

'I'm fine,' he responded as he stood up, wincing in pain before preparing himself. 'I'll talk to you after this. I can't really fight and talk to you at the same time.'

**'Ok, just be careful,' **she stated before closing the connection. As soon as she did this, Naruto felt his awareness returning to full, allowing him to spot things that he couldn't while talking to the red haired vixen. With a quick fluid strike, he embedded his blade into the gut of an approaching Loyalist before pulling it out. He twirled around with his blade raised above him and quickly brought down, slicing through the body of another Loyalist. All around him were the bodies of the dead with the remaining looking at him wearily. Naruto slowly raised his free hand up as he felt his chakra focus at that point.

"**Soul Calibur Release: Frozen Pulse**!"

The white aura gathered at the ball shaped crystal that rested above the handle and was surrounded by the crystallized blade. With a mighty stab, Naruto thrust the blade through the air in the general direction of the Loyalist shinobi. In a split second, a massive blast of pure white erupted from the blade as it flew towards his aggressors. It exploded as soon as it made contact with the first of its targets, causing him to freeze completely while frozen spikes suddenly formed, impaling a few of his comrades that were positioned behind him. Naruto fired off several more blasts of ice, killing the Loyalists in massive amounts before he was forced to stop as several of them tried to strike him with their swords, forcing him either to dodge or block the attacks.

"I'm getting tired of this!" growled the leader before moving forward with his hands already flying through several hand seals. "Why don't you just die! **Earth Release: Guardians of Earth**!"

From the depths of the earth, a handful of stone statues emerged with rather large shields that covered most of their bodies. They were able to withstand the frozen attack while shielding the Loyalists form harm. Suddenly, they started to move from their positions as they drew their stone swords while holding their shields in a defensive posture. With quick and precise movements, they moved forward and lashed out with their blades. Naruto moved away just as quickly as he resorted to dodging the onslaught of aggressive attacks before sending another of his frozen pulses at the group of earth warriors. He wasn't expecting them to slam their shields into the ground, causing a large mud wall to rise and completely block the attack. The ice exploded as soon as it made contact with the wall, completely freezing the mud and shattering it to reveal a large hole.

"You won't be able to defeat my guardians," boasted the leader as he looked at the blonde ANBU member. "They'll take care of you while the rest of us carry out our mission."

"Not a chance in hell," roared Naruto as he rushed forward with his sword at the ready. "These guardians of yours have become a nuisance. Unfortunately for you, they need to go!"

With a swing of his blade, one of the statues crumbled into several pieces of stone before being blocked by another's sword. The blonde roared as he focused chakra into his muscles and pushed Soul Calibur, causing the crystal blade to shatter the hardened stone blade in half. He spun around quickly as he lashed out with a wide slash that bisected the body of the animated object.

"And besides, you're not going anywhere!" shouted the blonde as he quickly threw a kunai, which embedded itself into the skull of an unsuspecting shinobi. It forced some of them to turn and watch as the blonde ANBU destroyed enough of the stone warriors one by one, systematically taking them down.

"What are you looking at?" questioned the leader as he watched his men show looks of confusion before looking back at the blonde shinobi. "He will fall! We have a mission to complete."

"**Soul Calibur Release: Nevermore Winter**!"

Chakra started to expel all around him in large copious amounts, freezing the air around him and turning it into snow and ice. It started to gather all around them as it fell from the air above, complete encasing everything. Soon, a bright light blue colored light covered everything, blinding everyone who was close enough, forcing them to shield their eyes with their forearms.

"What the hell is this blasted light?!" questioned one of the Loyalists as he tries to look at the source. only to find himself unable to.

"This is the end!" cried Naruto as he raised his white blade into the sky, causing the light to intensify in strength. "**Soul Calibur Release: Requiem of the Nevermore**!"

The crystal orb embedded started to transfer the energy glowing around it to the tip of the blade, causing it to fire a bright blue beam to the room of the cavern. Snow and ice started to swirl around him, buffeting his surroundings in the substance and prevented them from moving at all. Naruto quickly flipped the blade and stabbed it into the frozen earth, launching a massive shockwave of ice, freezing everything within a certain area of affect. The wave emitted a bright hue that illuminated the whole cave system, halting the fighting as Loyalists and Rebel alike watched in wonder at the devastating attack before regaining their senses and resuming the fight.

Mei, who was quite a distance away from the explosion, could only look in wonder and terror at the sheer power that the blonde ANBU member had. She felt something cold kiss her exposed skin and looked up to find snow drifting down from the roof above. A soft yet cold breeze blew past her, causing her to shiver but she had a feeling that it was time. All around her, tired and restless rebel shinobi look at the sheer magnitude and couldn't help but wonder at their fate. It was at that moment that Ragnor emerged from a nearby building with wounds and bruises littering his body to no end.

"General!" cried several of the shinobi as they rushed to aid the swordsman.

"Ragnor, what happened?" asked the auburn haired woman.

"It was the brat," he grunted out before releasing a hiss as the medics treat one of his more serious wounds. "They had me cornered and he jumped in to fight them. Told me to come and regroup here with the rest of you."

"Then what caused that?" asked a nearby shinobi quietly, but was loud enough for Ragnor to hear.

"That, my fellow rebels, is a glimpse of Konoha's true power. When he was fighting me, I could tell that he was holding back quite a bit of his strength but still showed enough to ensure our trust that he was fighting with us."

"He couldn't have been able to survive a battalion's worth of shinobi!" retorted another. "No one is that strong."

"I assure you, he is that strong," growled out Ragnor before turning to Mei. "Mei-sama, what are your orders?"

She looked at him expectantly before glancing at her men. Their eyes held something that she hasn't seen in so long and she knew that it was all thanks to that lone Konoha ANBU fighting with them.

"Shinobi of the Rebellion, as we stand here, several of our brothers and sisters fight in the streets of our home. Konoha, knowing that we needed aid, sent us one of their best and he fights with us against the Loyalists. You have seen a glimpse of his potential and we will not squander this opportunity. We are given a choice! Are we going to stand aside and let others fight our battles, showing that we are cowards? Or are we going to fight right alongside him and our allies, showing the true power of Kiri?! We are no band of cowards and I know for certain that we will fight for our rights and for our freedom! Remember those who have fallen and why they died. Do not let their memories and deaths be in vain! We are the shinobi of Kiri and we will fight this tyranny!"

Her audience roared with approval as they raised their fists into the air, before rushing off to gather supplies and weapons for the fight ahead. Mei could see the fires of determination in their eyes as they steeled themselves for the fight ahead and she knew that this was one step towards the right direction. She watched as several squads left their makeshift headquarters to assist in the field while wounded ones returned with small smiles to see familiar faces. Her hand drifted up to her face to push the fallen bangs back to their place before her green eyes traveled to where the bright blue light once shown.

'Please be careful, Kitsune,' she thought. 'I have a feeling that you are someone who's going to be important to me someday and I hope that I will find out why but I need you alive for that.'

She was brought out of her thoughts when more pieces of snow, much larger than it was earlier, landed on her cheeks. Her hand quickly brushed off of the cold items before watching the pieces of snow blanket everything around them.

Back with Naruto, he found himself surrounded in white and snow as his eyes got accustomed to the environment. The ice encased everything around him, forming a frozen prison as he spotted the terrified faces of the people trapped within with their arms outstretched. Several projectiles were halted mid flight and Naruto knew that it was time to move on. With a strong pull, Soul Calibur cleanly emerges from the ground with a soft crack from the ice. He felt the snowflakes falling on top of his body before trudging forward, moving past the encased beings with Soul Calibur still in hand.

It didn't take the blonde long to finally reach the first set of buildings that led into the heart of the battle. Laying on the ground were the fallen men and women, with rivers of blood streaming from their wounds and cuts. Weapons were scattered everywhere, some stabbed into the frozen yet soaked earth while others were embedded into the bodies and walls that surrounded him. All around him, snow started to pile up and he had to kneel down on the ground to further examine the dead bodies.

'A lot of them have combat vest,' he thought to himself. 'So it would be safe to assume that all of them are shinobi but where are the civilians?'

That was the blonde boy looked up before spotting something sparkle in from the frozen liquid on it. His eyes followed it to find that it was something of worry.

'Shit, this is ninja wire, which means that this...'

"Welcome to our trap, rebel scum," called out a voice above him, earning Naruto's attention as he looked at the frozen rooftops. "That wire is one of many that was placed all around you and all of which trigger traps that you cannot escape. It would be best for you to accept your fate for you cannot hope to survive against the great legions of Kiri!"

"Is that what you thing?" stated the blonde ANBU as his eyes narrowed behind his mask, watching as more and more shinobi appeared on the rooftops with identical predatory grins on their faces. "Many have stated that claim before and now, they lay dead, encased in a frozen tomb. So what makes you different from those that I killed before you."

"You expect us to believe that one shinobi was able to defeat a legion," scoffed another shinobi before drawing several projectiles from his pouch. "We gave you a chance out of the kindness of our hearts but you have refused. May Kami have mercy on your soul."

"May she have mercy on yours," he growled angrily with his chakra flaring around him.

"Fire!"

A storm of projectiles flew from the hands of the people above, ranging from kunais to shurikens. Naruto jumped back as fast as he could, pulling several of the wires that were placed behind him, while his hands flew through a large series of hand seals.

"**Earth Release: Mud Hydra Defense**!"

A familiar mound of mud started to rise from the ground, blocking the initial and secondary waves of projectiles as they stuck into the growing figure. It didn't take long for it to take into the shape of a dragon with four heads looking down at its prey. The claws of the earth dragon raised into the air and swiped across the rooftops with the hardened stone claws. All four of the heads reared back before spitting out a hail of mud projectiles that crashed on the tops of buildings. Several of the Kiri shinobi easily fell to the first assault of the beast but they soon started to focus their attention on it as they started to toss weapons with explosive tags wrapped around them. The blasts caused clunks of earth to scatter in all directions. During the mist of this, Naruto drew Soul Calibur from his back and rushed up the building side, making sure not to trigger any more traps. It took him a matter of seconds to reach the unorganized unit before starting his onslaught as he stabbed the crystal blade through the chest of an unaware shinobi before ripping it out rather violently.

"There he is!" called out a Loyalist before he found one of the blonde's throwing knives stabbed deep into his skull. Naruto just watched as attention was now split between him and his summoned dragon, who was barely surviving from the barrage of explosions. Several rushed towards him and he quickly drew his black katana and held it in a reverse grip before charging into the fray.

Using his katana, he blocked a kunai strike before spinning around and cleaving the first aggressor with the crystal blade in his other hand. With a rather powerful pull, the large blade ripped out of the body, leaving a trail of blood before it was wedged into the neck of another, nearly cutting off the head. It was a dance of blood as his blades sliced, stabbed, and cleaved through the endless amount of enemies that charged towards him. It was until he was drawn to the sound of a massive explosion before pieces that ranged from a pebble to a large boulder scattered everywhere. Naruto jumped down to the ground, avoiding a large amount of the debris. Unfortunately, the remainder of his attackers had the same thought.

"Your pet is gone," cried out one of the remaining shinobi. "Now you are next!"

They all started to surround him with weapons drawn and Naruto knew that it was time for him to clean them up while sending a message to the rest of the invasion force. He sheathed the blood covered black katana before raising Soul Calibur into the air.

"**Soul Calibur Release**! Emerge from Kami's eternal peace, Siegfried, the first Paladin!"

The blade started to glow brightly before it split into two identical blades with one in each hand. The light quickly died down to reveal the blades, which were different in color as the white that consumed most of the swords were now a cleaner white in contrast to the eggshell color it had before. Also, the orb that was centered at the blade was a definite blue color in contrast to its previous state of blue. A white aura surrounded the ANBU before solidifying into the signature paladin armor that he had worn once before with his cape draped around his back.

"Freeze to your doom. **Paladin Release: Eternal Forest of Frost**!"

Naruto stabbed both of his blades into the blood soaked, snow covered earth and caused a layer of light blue ice to encase everything. As the floor began to quickly freeze, large spikes of ice rose from the ground, piercing the bodies of the dead and drenching the tip with red. It quickly reached its first victim as an unexpected Loyalist was pierced through his stomach and lifted quickly into the air where no one could save him. It wasn't until another handful of shinobi fell in the same manner that the surviving shinobi started to run away.

Unfortunately, they weren't successful as the majority of them were stabbed and lifted into the air. From the frozen barbs, several spikes shot out from the sides and pierced those that were missed in the initial attack. It didn't take long before the screams of agony erupted and filled the air as blood was sprayed in multiple directions in a brutal fashion.

At that moment, several figured appeared right behind him, causing him to rip both blades out from the earth and ready himself for a fight. However, he lowered his stance as he spotted the auburn haired leader of the rebellion with some of her generals at her side along with a pair of guards. One thing that they had in common was that they were all covered in the red blood. The blonde walked towards them, ignoring the cries from the spiky prison.

"Mei-sama," he stated before bowing to her. "I have been able to dispatch several units worth of the invading forces but I believe that there are several more out there."

"Yes, there are more of them out there," she replied regretfully as she walked towards him with a small smile etched on her face. "Kestia and Ragnor have reported to me that a large number of our forces are fighting what remains of their main invasion force. And with you dispatching several units worth, it will be an easier task than predicted. However, we must defeat them before we move and relocate to another location. Several battalions worth of Loyalists should be on the way here and even with you here, we won't be able to stop them."

"What is our next course of action?"

"Wouldn't it be wise to rest before heading out?" asked female shinobi that stood beside Mei. "It must have taken a lot out of you to take on two groups worth of Loyalist."

"I have no need of rest but I thank you for your concern," responded Naruto as he gave her a small nod. "However, I believe that I am still capable of fighting and would be use on the field to increase our current progress. With your permission, I would like to head to the closest Forward Operating Base and assist in the combat with the main forces."

"Very well," stated Mei. "Your presence there should be able to boost the morale as well as assist in pushing back these invaders. Kestia and Ragnor will go with you as your team. They will lead you to main FOB."

With a nod, Naruto turned to the two people that were now his teammates. They looked at him before disappearing in a blur with the blonde following suit. The trio jumped from building to building at a quick pace with Kestia taking the lead, Ragnor right behind her, and Naruto covering the rear. Naruto took this moment to examine the woman in front of him. She had short hair that was a mixture of dark red and brown that was barely able to reach her shoulders. While she was shorter than Ragnor or himself, she was about average in overall height. Her sleeves reached from her shoulders to the middle of her hands as it fluttered behind her with every movement she made. Her legs were covered with loose shinobi combat pants with several pouches strapped around her thighs and her back while her upper body was covered with the standard blue combat vest that the rebellion shinobi used to distinguish themselves from the rest. However, the vest was unzipped, exposing a mesh shirt along with a dark blue shirt.

Ragnor looked a little different from the last time he encountered the swordsman a few hours ago. He had on the same blue combat vest with _Chaos Reaper_ attached on his back. A black bandana covered his entire head while a white cloth strip with the Kiri symbol was tied around his right bicep. He had on a short sleeve shirt with a form fitting mesh shirt underneath it. It showcased his rather large muscles for all to see while he wore the standard combat pants. Along the sides of his waist were a pair of katanas. Something that Naruto noticed was that the man had several bandages wrapped around his arm with several blood spots drenched on it.

"Ragnor, what happened to your arm?" he asked rather curiously.

"Oh this," he said with a small laugh. "After you sent me away, a small group of Loyalists had the gall to try and face me. Fought my way through the entire lot but one of the bastards was lucky with his blade and made a good sized cut on my forearm here. Medics took a look at it and they said it was fine."

"Or rather you said that you were going back into the fight," muttered Kestia loud enough for the two to hear her. "You know that they can't argue with you."

"Whatever..." responded the swordsman with a shrug.

"We should be coming up to the FOB soon," called Kestia, resulting in a nod from Ragnor. Naruto just watched the route ahead before noticing something suspicious. He channeled a bit of chakra into his ears, refining his hearing by a considerable amount before hearing something that caused his eyes to widen behind his Kitsune mask. His hands reached into his back pouch as he jumped ahead of the two generals, causing them to look at him in curiosity. With a soft grunt, he pulled out several kunais and shurikens before tossing them into the air in front of them.

It surprised them when they heard the sounds of metal clashing against metal before spotting his projectiles falling down with several more. In a blur, Naruto drew Soul Calibur before blocking some of the incoming projectiles with the large side of the blade. Ragnor and Kestia followed suit as they drew their weapons before jumping away from the storm with Naruto following as soon as he spotted them on the ground. All around them, the air wavered before revealing several more shinobi clad in the standard green with weapons drawn and ready to kill them.

"Surrender rebels, you cannot hope to escape us alive," ordered one of the shinobi standing at the front. "You are surrounded and you have no source of reinforcements to save you. Give up now and the Mizukage may be merciful towards you."

"The Fourth does not understand the concept of mercy!" growled out Ragnor. "It was he who continued the Bloodline Purge when he had a chance to stop it! He has ordered the deaths of many because of the bloodlines that they had."

"We will not surrender," responded Kestia as she felt her back touch the backs of both Ragnor and Naruto. "We'll fight all of you until Kiri is free from the grasp of the Fourth! That tyrant has done many wrongs that cannot be forgiven!"

"Then you shall die!" roared the shinobi as he lifted his weapon up in the air. "Kill them all!"

They readied themselves to attack but were stopped when they felt a sudden chill go down their spines. Kestia and Ragnor readied themselves as they felt the aura radiant from their ally. His white blade started to glow once more for the day, blinding those who were use to it. Naruto, on the other hand, swung the glowing blade in a circle.

"This ends now!" he roared as the white aura engulfed him again. "**Soul Calibur Release**! Emerge from Kami's eternal Peace, Siegfried!"

The surrounding white solidified to form his crystal like paladin armor with Soul Calibur splitting into two identical pairs and with a wave of the crystal blades, it created a large gust of winter wind, causing snow and ice to appear once more. He took initiative as he stabbed the first blade into the body of the closest Loyalist before using he second to cleave through another. Kestia followed suit as she grabbed her trench knives before starting to slice through the closest enemy. Ragnor swung his blade, maiming the couple of shinobi closest to him as their limbs flew in the air.

"Attack!" ordered one of the Loyalists, who spurred the rest of them out of their confusion and shock, before calling out the name of his jutsu as his hands finished the last hand seal. "**Water Release: Dragon Barrage**!"

Water from nearby sources swirled together before forming a large twister like figure with several heads that launched themselves at the three rebels in the center of the Loyalist circle. Kestia nimbly moved around the attack while continuing to dispatch her targets with relative ease. In contrast to the female general, Ragnor used his brutish strength to hack through the water before continuing on his merry way and slicing the nearest Loyalist to cross his path. The ones that rushed towards Naruto froze completely before they reached the boy, leaving them hanging in mid air. At this point, several of the shinobi were able to call out their first wave of attacks.

"**Water Release: Hydro Rush**!"

Liquid formed around the hands of their aggressors before flicking them at the rebels. The water moved forward swiftly before making impact with the two unexpected generals, sending them backwards with brute force. They weren't able to recover fast enough to be able to defend themselves against the remaining liquid dragons. Others took advantage of their current predicament as their hands flew through a flurry of seals.

"**Water Release: Impact Prison**!"

Water soon started to rise from the ground, swirling around them at a fast pace before launching upwards before aiming themselves at the blonde ANBU. Unfortunately, the attempt was futile. The liquid froze almost instantly as soon as it neared him and stopped before it struck him. That was when he started to expel a white aura that covered his entire body and with a loud roar, he unleashed all of it as he stabbed his blade into the ground once more.

"**Paladin Release: Curse of the Tempest**!"

The aura expanded as it encased everyone in the battlefield before covering the ground with a layer ice once more. A dense mist soon fell around the area and no one was able to see anything. It was clearly obvious to many that it was chakra infused, preventing anyone from seeing through it and with the amount of the chakra infused frost on the ground, trying to see or sense Naruto and his team was almost impossible.

"What the hell is going on here?" questioned one of the Loyalists out loud, earning murmurs of agreement from his compatriots.

"I don't like the looks of this," muttered the leader as he looked around with his weapon drawn. "Ready yourselves for anything..."

"They probably ran-"

Their companion never finished his sentence as kunai quickly inserted itself into his skull, killing him instantly. His body fell with a thud.

"I believe that it is time for the Mist to remember their history," stated a voice from the dense covering. "Your village was known for this. Let's see how well you are against it. You have eight points. Let's see if you can defend all of them. I'll give you a minute to prepare."

With a menacing chuckle, Naruto took the opportunity to draw out his katana along with one of his throwing knives before running into the fray. The Loyalists were in disarray as soon as they heard the point.

"How can someone aside from the Seven Swordsmen learn that technique?!" asked someone nervously. "They never had any apprentices as far as I could remember."

"It seems that your time is up. I wonder where shall I strike first?" he asked as he silently ran towards an unsuspected target. "Maybe the larynx first!"

He thrust his black katana through the throat of his target before swiftly sliding across and slicing the throat of a nearby shinobi in a silent fashion. In a matter of seconds, his weapons had been bloodied as they cut through the bodies of his enemies.

"It's so tempting to kill you all at once when you're all grouped up like that," stated Naruto as he readied himself for his next attack run. "Next is your spine. Or should I strike your lungs first?"

With a laugh that echoed throughout the mist, he ran into it once more with his sharp blades ready to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. Kestia and Ragnor were able to find each other in the dense mist while the sounds of fear filled their ears.

'Who is this guy?' wondered the female general as she looked around her before spotting several bodies sprawled on the ground with blood leaking from a single wound. 'The manner in which he is systematically taking these shinobi down is unparalleled. It reminds me of the Fourth Hokage when he decimated three battalions worth of Iwa combatants in a matter of seconds. And he is using the Silent Killing method, something that our Swordsmen of the Mist used effectively. How does someone from Konoha have access to this?'

'This war will be all but over soon,' thought Ragnor as he allowed himself a moment to catch his breath. 'Kitsune is dismantling their system in a manner that would make those bastards fearful of him. Looks like Mei-sama was correct in bringing you here to help us. You are as strong as any general and maybe even equal in strength with Mei-sama.'

Both of them were awakened from their thoughts as Naruto appeared in front of them and caused the heavy fog to lift, revealing the dead that littered the ground with rivers of blood flowing from them, forming a large puddle of the substance. In the middle of the puddle were a small group of survivors with terror etched into their eyes as they looked upon the dead to find most of their comrades.

"H-Hold s-steady!" commanded one of the few that remained with a strong stutter. "W-We will survive!"

"No way!" protested another as he started to back away. "Did you see what he did? Most of us are dead because of him! No way am I fighting this!"

"But he must have burned out a lot of his chakra by now," reasoned a third as he readied himself. "They will be easy picking for us!"

"Do you actually believe that?" questioned a voice behind them. The survivors turned to find a pair of blue eyes staring into theirs. They weren't quick enough as a black blade slashed the nearest shinobi. Kestia was right behind him as she stabbed two in quick succession while Ragnor cleaved a pair in half before hoisting his sword on his shoulder.

"Now what are you going to do?" asked the blonde with a feral grin as he sheathed his two blades before ripping Siegfried from the earth. "You're surrounded and have no place to run."

"Screw you all!" screamed a Loyalist as his hands flew through several seals at a fast pace. "I won't surrender to a bunch of rebel scum! **Water Release: Neptune's First Strike**!"

Whatever water remained unfrozen, rose up before swirling together to form a large swirling disk around his hand and with a grunt, he launched it at the blonde with a savage grin on his face. That was all that the survivors needed as their morale soon rose. They started to throw whatever projectiles they had left in their pouches while others started to flash through several different types of seals. Kestia took that moment to jump in.

"**Earth Release: Mud Bunker**!"

Ragnor and Naruto quickly beside Kestia as the earth lurched upwards to create a large wall of earth, protecting them from the oncoming projectiles. Some of the projectiles had explosive notes wrapped around the handles and they exploded as soon as they made contact with the barrier, causing a dust cloud to form. As soon as the dust cleared, it revealed a disfigured wall that falls into small pieces that laid on the ground to reveal Kestia, Ragnor and Naruto. At the sight of them, the Loyalists called out their respective jutsus.

"**Water Release: Water Fang Bullet**!"

"**Water Release: Torrent of Destruction**!"

"**Water Release: Toxic Hail Storm**!"

Several of the shinobi soon started to spit out large blobs of water while others spat out a hail of purple colored blobs of liquid. Others slammed their hands on the ground, willing the water to bend to their will. The blast from the explosive tags was able to melt some of the ice and increase the amount of water in the area. The water started to accumulate underneath the trio, causing them to jump away just as a large surge of the substance shot up into the air, carrying anything in its area of effect up into the air.

Naruto took this moment to jump into the air before swinging both of his blades to deflect some of the attacks aimed at him since his aura wasn't able to freeze some of the incoming projectiles. He sliced through most of the projectiles, causing them to freeze as soon as they made contact with either of the blades. The rest of the incoming attacks flew by the blonde and it wasn't long before the amount of water bullets became unbearable as some of them soon struck Naruto's armor. They froze as soon as they made contact with it, leaving several frozen spikes on his blade which he removed with a hard pull while his white aura starting to surround him once more.

"**Paladin Release: Frozen Heaven's Shield**!"

Naruto struggled against the onslaught that made impact with his armor before he stabbed both of his blades into the ground. The water from the torrents gathered at spots in front of him before launching themselves into the air and with a release of his chakra, it was frozen into a large wall. Ragnor and Kestia took that moment to regroup and catch a breath as they watched the attacks start to die down until nothing was left. Kestia narrowed her eyes before sending the young Namikaze a nod. Naruto readied himself as he felt a pull from his chakra once more, causing the large ice wall to collapse into little pebbles of ice.

"I believe that it's time to end this," she shouted as she moved forward with her hands flying through handseals at a fast rate. "**Lava Release: Magma Firestorm**!"

The earth in front of her cracked to reveal lava and magma from the planet's core. The liquid like substance started to increase in quantity as more cracks started to appear, causing the survivors to back up. With a cry from the female, the lava quickly launches itself from the faults before succumbing to gravity.

The Loyalists could only watch in horror as they fired whatever water attacks they had in their arsenal to stop the free falling liquid. Some of them tried to run away from the burning liquid, only to fail as it landed on them and causing them to fall to the ground in pain from the melting. Others tried to launch several water jutsus at the projectiles but they were quickly overwhelmed at the amout falling from the sky.

Naruto jumped towards Ragnor as soon as he spotted the incoming projectiles and readied himself for his next course of action. He stabbed both of his blades into the ground before going through a handful of seals as the pure white chakra started to swirl around him.

"Whatever you're going to do, you better do it now," growled out Ragnor as he looked up. "We've got a storm heading for us."

"I know, I know!" yelled Naruto as he finished his string of hand seals. " Finished! **Holy Release: Shield of the Guardians**!"

The white chakra soon started to swirl faster around the duo to form a large dome around them. The incoming hail of molten liquid made impact with the barrier, slowly accumulating on it and increasing the strain on Naruto as he continued to maintain the protective barrier. Outside of it, the screams of pain echoed as the molten liquid consumed the bodies of the Loyalist shinobi, leaving nothing left in its wake. The screams were quickly silenced and replaced with a soft sizzle. Kestia just looked from above as she watched the burning of her enemies while wondering about the fate of her allies.

The lava started to flow out towards the outskirts of the area and into the remains of the frozen cavern. However, the drastic change in the temperature and the amount of ice related chakra in the air resulted in the increased cooling and solidification of the liquid, turning it into rocks. As soon as the entirety of the lava turned solid, cracks soon started to emerge with frost blue light shinning out from them before blowing away the rocks. Kestia looked down at the opening before jumping down to see two people at the center of the medium sized crater. Ragnor was the first person to appear in her line of sight before she spotted Kitsune clad in his paladin armor. The armor dispelled in a matter of seconds after with his two blades merging together to form one. He found himself kneeling on the ground, breathing rather harshly.

"How are you two holding up?" she asked.

"Just a few scratches here and there," Ragnor responded as he sat on the edge of the crater, looking at the blood covered cuts that were scattered around his body. "Kitsune, you going to be alright?"

"I should be." he muttered loud enough for both of them to hear him. "Just give me a minute to rest up..."

"You've got quite a bit of wounds," observed Kestia as she walked towards the blonde. "Are you sure you want to continue?

"I should be fine. We need to continue on."

"If you say so," replied the red haired woman softly. "How much chakra do you two have left? I've used about three fourths of mine so I can do something if we still have to fight when we get to our destination."

"I have about half of mine since I've been using my sword to cleave through people," responded Ragnor as he cleaned the blood from his large blade before moving towards the female general. "What about you, blondie? You were tossing out jutsus left and right."

"I've got less than a tenth of my original reserves left considering that I've fought a couple battalions," he responded. "That's a couple of long range jutsus or a handful of large area jutsus. If we have to fight something like that again, I won't be able to use jutsus."

"How do you still have chakra?" asked Ragnor incredulously. "A normal shinobi would have chakra exhaustion by now or be dead."

"Well, I'm not your average shinobi," responded the blonde with a smirk plastered on his face. "I have a very large chakra capacity and from what the Hokage told me, it's rather dense, meaning that I use less chakra than the normal shinobi would regarding to jutsus. It does help that I've been using large scale jutsus for a while."

"I guess that the Third Hokage was right in sending you as our reinforcements," Kestia replied with a smile before noticing her breathing slowed down considerably. "Let's rest up a bit before moving on. I believe we might have a fight ahead of us."

"Very well," Naruto replied as he sat down on a piece of rubble before closing his eyes.

'Rei-chan?' he called out mentally as he restored the mental link between the two.

**'Naruto-kun, are you ok?' **she asked with a hint of worry in her voice. **'I've been constantly healing your wounds from here.'**

'I'm doing fine,' he replied. 'We just finished another big fight and taking a few minutes off. Also, I'm sorry about cutting the connection off. I was having a hard time talking to you and concentrating on the fight.'

**"It's fine, Naruto. At least I know that you're fine,' **she replied. **'Now, why have you called me here? I have a feeling that I know what it's going to be about...'**

'Well, I was wondering if I could use some of your chakra,' asked the blonde rather sheepishly. 'The fights have drain me and I'm almost out.'

**'I figured as much,' **replied the demoness with a sigh of exasperation. **'You take more to Odin and Bahamut more than you let on. Tossing costly jutsus left and right without a care in the world.' **

'Please Rei-chan?'

**'Fine. I can only let you use enough to fill about a third of your reserves since your body is not fully accustomed to using or containing youki. Your reserves will try and filter it because of the seal so you will have a time limit before you eventually have to stop.'**

'How much time do you think I'll have?'

**'Probably 5 to 6 hours considering the density of the youki along with the fact that the purified youki will be added to your current chakra pool. Once it's all purified, you need to stop no matter what or else you will feel a rather severe backlash.'**

'Thanks Rei-chan,' stated the blonde with a smile. 'That should be enough for the fight ahead.'

**'No problem but we will need to talk when you're done.'**

'Ok, I won't forget to,' responded the blonde before the vixen cut the link between the two. Naruto shook his head as his senses started to pick up his surroundings once more. His attention drifted towards his two teammates, who were in the middle of discussion, causing him to move towards them.

"... I'm telling you Kestia, it would be a better idea for us to wait for Mei-sama to arrive with reinforcements and provide us with some support in the upcoming fight," argued Ragnor. "With our current reserves, it would be the easier for us."

"But that would mean that we would put her in danger of ambushes like the one we just fought," reasoned the red haired general. "Instead, we should push on and deal with as many ambush points as we can, limiting the casualties our forces will take and reducing theirs. And we would be able to lay siege on one of their major forces, thus helping shift the fight to favor us even more."

"Ummm..." stated Naruto, earning the attention of the two generals. "I would have to agree with Kestia on this one. The less people we put on danger of death, the stronger the Rebellion is. And the longer that we stay here, there is a higher probability that more are injured or killed."

"Fine then," grumbled Ragnor as he moved away from the pair and readied himself to move on.

"Don't worry about him," stated Kestia as she watched the masked Namikaze's face turn towards the swordsman. "My sister put him in charge for a reason and that's because his strength and tactics are some of the best. However, his plans usually do have a higher chance of having greater casualties."

"Sister?" asked Naruto curiously. "You have a sister?"

"Of course! My sister is Mei," she stated obviously, shocking the Uzumaki. "We both have long hair but hers is a more auburn color while mine is more of a orange red. It's mostly the personalities that differentiate me from her. She's more flirty during the free periods of her day but she can be serious if needed."

"I experienced that fist hand," said Kitsune, earning him the attention of Kestia. "It felt like she was trying to flirt with me in our room."

"Wait... You're my sister's roommate?" she asked rather loudly, earning a nod from the boy. "You better have not done anything to her or else..."

"No! I didn't do anything!" he said with his hands waving frantically. "She practically tried to jump me right after we talked for a few minutes! But I went to sleep afterwards.."

"It's fine," she stated as Naruto started to blush from the memories of the night with the rebel leader. "It seems that my sister and I have much to talk about as soon as all of this is over."

With a nod to Ragnor, the trio soon started to move through the streets of the cavern. Nothing emerged from the shadows but the sounds of fighting soon started to increase in volume as they continued to fly through. Suddenly, a kunai embed itself into the ground right beside them, causing them to stop and look at the source with their hands grabbing one of their weapons. They saw several shinobi wearing blue combat vests with blood all over.

"General Kestia! General Ragnor! Thank Kami that you're here!" exclaimed one of the mas they lowered their weapons as they approached the trio. "We've been pinned down here and low on supplies! Loyalist forces have surrounded this FOB and we need to evacuate this location soon."

"No, we're not abandoning this position," stated Kestia. "Mei-sama is inbound with reinforcements. Ragnor will lead a group and build a defense in order to assist the incoming reinforcements. Kitsune, I suggest you go by yourself and do some damage that might be able to disrupt their forces. I will lead another group to defend any of our forces that are planning to leave due to injuries. Captain, I would also suggest that you recall any shinobi that might be near an enemy base."

"Of course, general," stated the nearby captain. "But may I inquire to the reason why?"

"Captain," stated Naruto, earning the attention of the commanding officer of the FOB. "I specialize in jutsus that cause mass destruction. I don't want anyone of you to be caught in the blast radius and thus causing further injury. Captain, where is the closest Loyalist base?"

"It would be east of here and about three clicks out," responded the Captain. "We have sent some scouts there but only a few have returned. From what we have gathered, it's heavily defended and several well known high ranking shinobi have been seen entering it."

"Go on Kitsune. I know that you won't be able to identify any high ranking official like us but I would like for you to cause as much destruction as you can to their forces," ordered Kestia. "If you can damage their base, then go for it. But don't put yourself at risk by doing so."

"By your leave."

Naruto found himself traveling above the deserted streets and nothing was appearing to be out of place as he searched for potential aggressors and opponents. One his hands twitched towards his throwing knives on his belt while the other hand drifted towards a short sword that he had pick up from the ground from a fallen shinobi.

Quickly, his hands flew towards his belt and grabbed one of his knives before tossing it. He quickly moved away as several pieces of spinning pieces of metal flew past him and with a split second decision, his second hand grabbed a pair of senbon needles. He tossed them at what he believed as the origin of the projectiles, earning him a few audible grunts of pain. At that moment, several shinobi appeared around him, causing Naruto to grab his katana and ready himself.

"A rebel all alone in the middle of Loyalist territory?" sneered one of them as he looked at the Kitsune mask that covered Naruto's face. "You have good aim to hit some of us, but it's a shame that you're working for rebels. Now you have to die."

In response, Naruto drew his black katana along with the short sword and readied himself for the fight ahead. The Loyalists that surrounded him tensed up at the movement but lowered their guard before one of them started to laugh.

"You really think that you can take us on?" he asked as he gestured to his teammates. "You don't even look like a true shinobi. Too young and too stupid. I suggest that you go home. We don't want to kill you just because you decide to be stupid."

"Hey! He looks like he's about to cry," stated another, causing many of his squad to laugh before he found it hard to breathe and blackness consuming his vision. His body had reacted quickly as his hands went to the large cut on his neck but it wasn't fast enough as his body fell to the floor dead.

"That's for underestimating me," muttered Naruto before he lashed out with his weapons, earning him more kills as they sliced through the flesh of his enemies. "Now, all of you will fall to my blades."

With a burst of speed, he disappeared from view for a split second before appearing right in front of another of his aggressors and stabbed the short sword into his body. He quickly released his grip on the weapon as he jumped away before tossing out a flurry of senbon needles that he obtained from his pouch. The projectiles punctured the bodies of two Loyalists near the edge of circle.

"That's it kid," he growled out. "You just crossed the line and now, you die. **Earth Release: Raging Mud Slide**!"

He shot mud out of his mouth, creating a large pool of the substance in front of him before forcing more out to force it towards him in the same fashion as a river. Unfortunately for Naruto, his feet were caught in the mud slide. However, he wasn't the only one as several of his opponents met the same fate and they were not pleased.

"You idiot! You trapped us here too!" someone shouted from behind him.

"Sometimes sacrifices are necessary," responded another as he gestured for the rest to ready themselves. "Don't worry though. We'll make that you suffer rebel. I hope that you made peace with your demons."

"I hope that you have made peace with yours," retorted Naruto as he slapped his hands in a prayer position while watching everyone around him ready to throw metal projectile at him.

"Kill him!"

"**Earth Release: Columns of Earth**!"

Several pillars emerged from the earth below, placing themselves right in front of the metal projectiles and defending Naruto, leaving him unharmed. This action caused many to growl out in disappointment until they heard something from within the confines of the earth made defense.

"**Earth Release: Pillar Shuriken**!"

Suddenly, the tops of the pillars soon started to slice off and fly at the aggressors at breakneck speeds. All along the buildings and on the road, the large rock projectiles inserted themselves and barely made contact with the Loyalists that surrounded him. However, those that were caught in the mudslide with him were unable to dodge the attack and were quickly minced, killing them in a matter of seconds. Luckily for the blonde, his attack distracted his opponents enough for him to draw some more weapons to fling at them, inflicting more damage to them until only a third of the original amount remained with the pillars nonexistent. It was then that the survivors took action as they looked at the carnage around them.

"Retreat!" called out one of the survivors as he tried to take command of what remained of the forces until several senbons impaled him, killing him almost instantly.

'Easy picking,' Naruto thought as he flung more senbons at the retreating shinobi until the remainder had escaped his range, leaving several more of their comrades dead. Quickly, the blonde pulled out one of his knives from his belt before channeling chakra into it and slicing into the hardened mud that had encased his feet. In a matter of minutes, he was free and running through the barren streets, following the remains of his attackers. That was until he heard voices from a distance and decided to listen in as he moved in silently towards the source. He was quickly greeted with the sight of several shinobi clad in green, looking around for anyone that would pose a threat before spotting a handful of them that were located at the center of the defensive perimeter.

"Commander, I think that this new shinobi should be dealt with," stated one of the shinobi located in the center. "From what my people have told me, they have dispatched several platoons worth of our original force with the help of Ragnor and Kestia. And by himself, he was able to kill most of the battalion that you posted at the front."

"That isn't possible," retorted the identified Commander with a scoff. "More than 150 of the 300 that we posted there were killed by one shinobi? Impossible. And from what my sources have told me, he's also rather young."

"Commander, he was able to decimate the battalion with a pair of earth jutsus and senbon needles," mentioned another shinobi near him. "We were barely able to escape with our lives. The earth jutsus that he used were definitely powerful."

"Hiro, are you sure that your battalion wasn't being overconfident and arrogant?" asked the captain. "Your battalion is well known for doing so..."

"Captain! Commander!" called out another shinobi ran towards them from outside the perimeter. "We just received reports that all assault battalions at the west side have been defeated. The survivors have rallied at FOB Beta."

"No! That means that we will be enduring the full force of the rebel force!"growled out the Commander. "Do you know who is responsible for this?"

"One of the survivors reported that a blonde haired shinobi wearing a Kitsune mask eliminated several of the battalions. He used several strange ice jutsus in conjugation with projectile weapons and long range jutsus."

"We believe he is also the one to have eliminated the battalion posted at the front," stated Hiro. "Commander, if we do not eliminate this shinobi out, then this assault will be a failure. He's systematically destroying our forces and given enough time, the Rebels will be here with him at tow."

"I agree Commander," added the Captain. " If this information is true and he is as strong as reported, then our forces are insufficient to deal with him and the Rebellion. We must take him out of the equation."

"Fine," replied a resentful Commander. "Prepare to send a recon squad and get me anything about this threat and make sure to deliver this information to a record building. If we don't get him, we'll make sure that the others will be tempted by the bounty on him and kill him for us."

"Yes sir!" answered the two before they vanished in a swirl of water.

"Alright you lot!" called out the Commander. "Let's move out!"

Naruto just watched from the shadows as the small convoy of shinobi left the area and with a sigh, he followed suit, making sure to utilize his parkour and free running skills instead of using his chakra so that they wouldn't be able to detect him from it. That was until he spotted large makeshift walls along with large amounts of Loyalist. Silently, he moved towards the top of a building just outside of their patrol range. As soon as he found cover in the shadows, he opened the link between him and his tenants.

'Hey Rei-chan?' he asked the vixen.

**'Yes?' **replied the demoness.

'What type of havoc and chaos could I create with my current chakra levels?'

**'Oh! Chaos! My favorite!' **she answered with such glee that made the blonde a little nervous. **'Well, with your reserves, I would suggest a mass area jutsu to destroy as much possible and then use your senbons to take them out from long range.'**

'Can I even hit anyone from here?'

_'Naruto, we've trained you to the point where you can hit someone about half a kilometer away,' _added Ares. _'You are positioned at point which puts you slightly less than that, meaning you can hail terror from above.'_

'Ok, but what jutsu to use? All of mine would reveal my current position and that is something that would be counterproductive for me.'

_'I might have something in mind,' _answered Bahamut as he entered the conversation. _'When you used Force Edge earlier, it created a chasm that reaches the inside of this base. I have a Fire Release jutsu that might be able to deal massive amounts of damage but it will cost a large amount of chakra to pull off.'_

**'That might be the best option,' **responded Rei. **'Out of your current arsenal, nothing would cause a large amount of damage and chaos needed for you to be able to pull this off."**

'Alright Bahamut, what's the jutsu and what is the hand seal sequence?'

_'I will have to take control of your body to do this. The hand seals are quite different since no one uses them anymore. However, we will make sure to teach them to you as most of the higher level jutsus in our repertoire use said jutsus.'_

'Alright then. Give me a moment.'

Naruto watched as the patrol moved around before spotting several boxes and crates were clearly supplies for the group. He also spotted several makeshift outposts that acted as towers for spotters near the entrance to the camp. Naruto just grinned at the amount chaos he was about to unleash.

'I'm ready, Bahamut. Take control!'

Bahamut felt himself taking control of the blonde's body before his eyes adjusted to what Naruto was looking at. A feral grin emerged on his face as his hands flew through a multitude of hand seals before he pointed his hand at the chasm that spread deep into the temporary camp.

_"__**Fire Release: Infernal Flames of Mortus**__!"_

Flames and lava soon started to emerge and rise from the deep chasm, causing mass hysteria all around the camp. The entrance and the two watchtowers exploded in a ball of flames, burning a few patrol groups that were caught unexpectedly. The flames soon engulfed surrounding supply crates and boxes, before spreading into other parts of the camp. Many of the patrols soon regained their senses as they started to try and use jutsus in order to try and contain the flames and molten liquid.

_'Ok kid, now it's your turn.'_

Bahamut gave control back to the blonde as he felt himself being drawn back into the mindscape. Naruto felt his control return and grabbed several of the senbon needles that he had laid out before starting his assault. With unparalleled skill, he started to throw the needles at the unsuspecting Loyalists from above.

Meanwhile, the Commander rushed towards the main entrance of his Operating Base, only to find it to be engulfed in flames. He spotted several of bundles of supplies burning along with several corpses of patrol groups. Suddenly, one of the shinobi stumbled back as blood splattered all around him. The others looked only for their eyes to widen at the sight of a pair of senbons impaling his heart and his lung.

"Take cover!" growled out another shinobi as he grabbed the Commander before rushing to behind some crates that were left untouched. "Get out of the open! Move! Move!"

"What's going on?" asked the Commander.

"It's the Marksman."

"Who?"

"The Kitsune masked Shinobi. I was one of the survivors of the battalion that encountered him. We knew that no one in the Rebellion had this type of marksmanship and out of nowhere, he came. We named him the Marksman because of his deadly accuracy and he's the one that's been killing most of our forces," stated the shinobi before he pointed to bodies that scattered everywhere with needles sticking out.

Kitsune watched from his vantage point as his needles punctured the bodies of his targets down below before he spotted something. Several of the Loyalist shinobi had mounted themselves along the roof tops below him and along the wall to search for their unknown assailant. Quickly, he hid behind a large pile of rubble as he started to unseal more senbon needles from his storage seal on his sash and laid them out.

With a deep breath, he grabbed two needles before pushing himself up and throwing them at the watchmen. One by one, they slowly fell and created more chaos as the flames started to grow out of control, burning more and more of the camp, despite the efforts of the Loyalists.

Down at the gate, the remaining shinobi started to scatter and run around as they watched their comrades die from the needles impaling their vitals. The Commander could only watch as his forces were decimated by one man. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as some of his men tried to climb up some stairs, only for them to fall from a hail of projectiles that systematically destroyed them.

"Commander, we have to get you out of here!" called the shinobi that had saved him over the screams of pain that surrounded them. "Gather some guards and we'll head to the shelter!"

Nodding dumbly, the man stumbled forward with several of his command following behind him. The guards paid dearly as they fell for every meter that they moved in order to protect their commanding officer. As the Commander made it into the shelter, only a third of his original guard force remained. He quickly went to the armory located at the back of the shelter, not knowing of the events occurring outside.

Outside, shinobi all around the camp started to centralize around the shelter with whatever supplies they were able to gather. Naruto had stopped his assault as his watched the survivors gather together and he let out a sigh as he looked at the remains of his arsenal of needles. Only three remained of the hundreds that he brought with him. He reached into his pouch to pull out several kunais with extremely potent explosive notes wrapped around the handle. Quickly, he tossed the needles at a shinobi that was isolated from the rest before throwing the kunais at a large segment of the wall. As soon as they made contact with the wall, it exploded, leaving nothing or anything to show that a wall had once stood there. That drew the attention of the survivors and they watched as a figure dropped from the higher parts of the surrounding buildings. It was when he reached the ground level that they noticed him.

"It's the Marksman!" one of them yelled. "Take cover and wait for him to come clo-"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence as an explosion erupted at the spot where he once stood, sending pieces of his body into the air. At this moment, Naruto summoned Soul Calibur and readied himself for another fight. The Loyalists drew whatever weapon they had and held them, preparing themselves for what was about to come. With a surge of chakra, he was able to catch their attention as he pointed his weapon at the remains of the large force.

"It's him," someone whispered fearfully as murmurs spread all around.

"Drop your weapons and you will be spared," stated Naruto with a growl. "Don't and you will die. It's your choice."

The survivors knew that they wouldn't have been able to do anything and unbuckled their pouches and dropped whatever weapons they had gathered. At this moment, the Commander had exited the shelter to find the remains of his forces with their hands in the air and their weapons littering the ground. He sighed, knowing what had happened.

"It seems that my men have surrendered," he stated, earning a nod from the masked Uzumaki. "Then I will as well. There is no more need for bloodshed, especially here."

"Are you the one in charge of this whole operation?" asked the Namikaze, only to receive a negative from the man.

"No, I was put in charge of this force," he stated. "This once consisted of half of the assault force but the rest are controlled by the general. His base is located farther out and is heavily fortified. I also heard that he controls several unknown beasts of unknown origin. They were the reason we were able to take control of this base until those magma like creatures appeared. These creatures were able to defeat them but it had hurt them greatly. I don't know how many are able to fight as of right now."

"Did he tell you where he got these beasts from?"

"He mentioned about finding them near some ruins off the coast. They were looking for something. That's all I know."

Naruto's eyes widened at the statement.

'These creatures might be the ones that Kami mentioned. The ones that are defiling a sacred area.'

**'They might be. I have a feeling that there is something going on here. I feel the darkness around here and they feel... ancient,' **stated Rei. **'If these beasts are the defilers, be careful. I have a bad feeling about this.'**

"Commander, I want you to recall whatever men you have left and leave for Kiri," ordered Naruto as he looked at the man before placing Soul Calibur on his back. "Leave your weapons behind along with extra supplies. Carry only what supplies you need in order to survive the trip back."

"This is all that remain of my forces," stated the Commander. "We will comply with your demand and thank you for letting us survive."

"Commander, the Mizukage will kill us for this," stated one of his shinobi.

"I will take the blame."

"I don't know if this would help," Naruto stated, interrupting the conversation. "But you could always join the Rebellion."

"They would treat us with animosity for what we have done," stated another.

"The winds of change are blowing. Will you be the one to build the walls or will you build the sails?" stated the Commander.

"What are you talking about?"

"His presence has shifted the balance of this war where more will die but more people will also live. And to be honest with you, I'd rather live and adjust with the changes of life," stated the Commander as he turned to extend his hand out to Kitsune, who shook it. "Thank you for all you have done."

"It is no problem," replied the Uzumaki. "Have you made a decision?"

"Yes. I will be joining the Rebellion. I have no say over my men but I have made my choice."

Naruto only had to glance at the survivors to know what they would choose. They were going to join the Rebellion, to help encourage the growth of the new age. He was brought out of his thoughts by the now former Kiri Commander.

"All of them have come to the consensus to join. Change is coming and they know it," he stated before retrieving something from the ground. "You are honorable, something that few shinobi are these days. I wish for you to use my blade. I have a feeling that I will have no need for it and that it would do you some good."

"Thank you," replied Naruto as he took hold of the blade. It was a short sword, something he commonly found on enemy shinobi during his fights, but this blade felt different to his touch. It was almost inviting to him, yearning for his touch.

"No. Thank you Marksman."

"Please, call me Kitsune."

"Then I ask that you do the same for me. I am Kenshin."

The travel back was rather awkward if Naruto had to describe it. Weapons that once littered the ground were sealed into a storage seal but after Naruto picked through them to gather some much needed supplies. Nothing stood in the groups path as Naruto led them to the FOB where Kestia and Ragnor resided. It didn't take him long to spot the shinobi with blue vests that covered the rooftops and it didn't take a genius for Naruto to know what they were planning. He spotted Ao amongst the gathering individuals and gave a negative notion at the sight of him drawing his blade. That was all Ao had to see as he sent signals to the group, forcing them to move away from Naruto's group. It didn't take long until they were inside of the base and the blonde spotted a familiar trio standing beside a tent before moving towards them while gesturing for Kenshin to follow him.

"Hello Kitsune, welcome back from your hunt," greeted Kestia as soon as she spotted the young ANBU. "It seems that you have been very successful."

"It seems that you have been busy," stated Mei. "Who is this?"

"If I may?" asked Kenshin, to which he received a nod. "My name is Kenshin and I am, or rather, was a Commander of a nearby base. We surrendered ourselves to Kitsune in order to prevent more death."

"Death?" questioned Ragnor.

"Yes. Failure is not tolerated by the General and he has been known to execute whole units for not being able to complete a mission. That is something I cannot endure."

"Are you Kenshin 'The Diplomat' Hayashida?"

"I am."

"Then I have no doubt that the reason you are here is to barter for your lives. So what is it that you will give for it?" inquired Mei. "You are well known for your peaceful nature that has led to the resolution of several events that could have turned into conflict."

"We asked if we would be able to join the Rebellion. There may not be many of us but we will do what we can."

"Very well," stated Mei, earning her the attention of her generals. "I will discuss this with you fellow generals but for now, your troops can stay here until a decision has been made. For now, there is a greater threat at hand. Ragnor, show them to their temporary quarters and make sure to tell our forces to not attack or harass them. Anyone doing so will face my wrath."

"By your command," responded the swordsman before leaving the small group.

"I would like to stay, if that is fine with you," said Kenshin, earning him raised eyebrows. "I can help provide whatever information for your strike at the General. If you eliminate him, this attack is over and all forces will evacuate back to the nearest base."

"Very well. All we do know is that the base is posted about six to seven clicks to the west," said Mei as she pulled out a map of the cavern. "However, it's a large place and has many watch points along with barracks. We're going to be facing a large amount of Loyalists if we decide to fight now."

"The main gate is usually guarded with six to seven squads but if the news of our fall reaches them, it might mean it is increased up to about nine to ten," observed Kenshin as he pointed at one location before moving to another. "The last time I went there, the General's office is about here but it's surrounded by a pair of towers and barracks."

"I would suggest that the bulk of the forces remain here to regain their strength and start building up some defenses while sending an assault team to do simple hit and runs," said Kestia. "It would divide their focus and if we hit important targets as well as eliminate chunks of their forces."

"That would cause paranoia and chaos if we continue to strike at different areas of the base and once we're ready, they will be an easier target," stated Mei as she realized what the results would be. "It would also divide their forces and spread them thin."

"I agree that this will be the best plan of action," added Naruto with nod.

"We will start soon but right now, you should get some rest Kitsune. You've fought a lot and I need you at full strength so we can do a large amount of damage. I'll organize a team to do some damage in the mean time."

"Why me? Wouldn't someone else be a better option?"

"You're the best candidate for the job because of your range with projectiles and your jutsus can cause large amounts of damage. Now go get some rest, we'll take it from here."

The blonde nodded before moving towards the tent that the rebel leader had pointed out for him. He entered it to find a cot that was rather inviting. As soon as he laid down, he found darkness consuming his sight as he drifted to the world of slumber.

_Mindscape_

Naruto opened his eyes to find the white canvas of walls and as he turned his head, he found a familiar woman right beside him. The red haired woman smiled as she spotted him moving before moving towards him with happiness, which was evident on her face.

**"How are you, Naru-chan?" **she asked.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

**"I bet. Your body was strained from the youki that I gave you and with the amount of chakra you just burned through, I'm surprised that you aren't kneeling over from the backlash."**

"Ye have little faith."

**"Baka," **muttered Rei before she slapped the backside of his head. **"I'm just making an observation along with a relevant conclusion."**

"What?"

**"Don't worry about it," ** she stated before give the blonde a soft smile. **"You're getting stronger Naruto and I have a feeling that we'll be teaching you some high level jutsus soon."**

"Awesome!" shouted the young Uzumaki before he wrapped his arms around the vixen and hugged her tightly. However, they were interrupted by soft cough, causing both of them to turn and blush as they spotted who it was. It was Kami.

_**"Aww... Such a cute moment," **_gushed the female goddess. _**"I'm so jealous of you Rei-chan!"**_

**"What are you doing here?" **

_**"Don't you miss me, Rei-chan?" **_she asked with large eyes looking at the red haired woman, only to receive a bland look from her. _**"Fine! I just came by to give you more information regarding my mission for you."**_

"We found out that a Loyalist general currently holds some unknown creature under his control," stated Naruto with seriousness in his voice. "We have a feeling that these might be the ones we are looking for."

_**"I had hoped that it wasn't true but your information is correct. The shadows cover the future from my gaze and I cannot see the events going to occur but I feel an ancient evil, something that the world has not encountered for millennia."**_

**"What are you talking about?" **asked Rei with confusion etched on her face.

_**"Shinigami and I were able to gain some information about your targets. We discovered that they are weak to Divine weapons and attacks, which means you would need to use either Soul Calibur or Force Edge in order to defeat them. However, we were not able to determine what this beast is."**_

"So I should immediately use Soul Calibur and Force Edge when facing them," noted Naruto. "Do they have any other weakness?"

_**"No, they are immune to basic elemental attacks."**_

**"There is one problem though," **stated Rei, drawing the attention of the other two. **"Naruto's inventory of bloodline jutsus is limited. He only has a couple of A-rank jutsus scattered amongst the six bloodline elements but nothing stronger than that. What would happen if he needed something stronger than that?"**

"Then I hope that it doesn't happen," muttered Naruto before looking down to find himself slowly disappearing, indicating that he was waking up.

_**"Keep strong, Naruto, and I know that you will be able to protect the tomb."**_

"I will do everything in my power to do so, mi lady," he stated as he disappeared along with the nine tailed vixen.

_Real World_

The sounds of explosion jolted the blonde awake as he rushed outside the tent with senbons in hand, ready to be thrown. Outside, shinobi were scattered everywhere as weapons were thrown flew in every direction along with jutsus. Using his senbons, the blonde slashed the throat of a nearby green clad shinobi, puncturing the jugular vein, before tossing the needles at a nearby squad. He looked around to find the green vested Loyalists fighting the red and blue vested rebels before spotting a wave of reinforcements coming from the distance. Quickly, Naruto drew a needle before tossing it at the inbound group.

"**Senbon Shadow Clone Jutsu**!"

The single needle multiplied as it flew through the air, turning into a hail of projectiles that struck the incoming Loyalists, killing a large portion of them. Along the midst of the fighting, Naruto was able to spot Mei and Kestia moving everywhere, issuing orders and killing opposing shinobi. He jumped towards them just as they casted their respective jutsus.

"**Lava Release: Lava Bullet**!"

"**Lava Release; Molten Bed**!"

Mei spat out several blobs of the molten substance, melting her targets as soon as it made contact with their intended target. Meanwhile, Kestia summoned a large pool of magma from the earth, separating the area of combat from what remains of the reinforcements. Unfortunately, some of them were caught in the forming pool and screams of pain echoed as they melted to their death.

The remains of the initial Loyalist attack force rushed forward as soon as they spotted their reinforcements. However, they stopped as soon as Kitsune dropped in front of them with his traditional katana in hand and with unparalleled speed, he sliced his way through the mob, making precise cuts while dodging any attacks that were made. It didn't take long for the Loyalist aggressive nature to dissipate, turning into fear as they watched their comrades fall.

During their hesitation, the blonde brought his wrath as he struck, killing another portion of the group. All around him, the rebels were pushing back using anything they have on their inventory ranging from jutsus to weapons. From afar, the Loyalist reinforcements could only watch as their attack was turned against them as they suffered a large quantity of casualties.

Meanwhile, the general of the Loyalist forces looked down at the attack from his tower before turning to face the group of people in the room with him.

"Gentlemen, I believe that this little game has come to its end," he stated to them. "Release the beasts. They will end this for us once and for all."

"Of course sir," stated one of the shinobi before he left to relay the order. However, the others released murmurs, earning the attention of the man.

"Well, what is it?"

"What about this shinobi that they call 'The Marksman'?" someone asked.

"I'm sure that the beasts will kill him for us. There has been nothing strong enough to injure them, much less kill them."

The shinobi and the council in the room looked at each other with a feeling of nervousness that went down their spines. Something was coming and they knew that they weren't going to be ready for it.

Back at the battlefield, Naruto just sliced his way through any aggressor that leapt his way and any survivor of his onslaught was quickly dispatched by his allies that were following behind him. He spotted another wave charging in. Swiftly, he drew a handful of kunai before throwing them at the inbound shinobi.

"**Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu**!"

The couple of kunais multiplied and impaled a large quantity of them, causing blood to splatter and pool on the ground before screams of pain erupted. Suddenly, a loud howl echoed from the distance and from the shadows of a nearby building, a large beast launched itself out. It landed in front of the blonde ANBU, allowing him to examine it closely. It looked something like a dog but was about four feet in height and twelve feet in length. A trio of black claws were attached to each of the paws but the most intimidating was the fact that it had three heads, all of which possessed sharp teeth.

"What the hell is that thing?" cried one of his allies in fear.

That was all it took for the beast to jump and pounce at the man, one of the heads biting into his body before devouring it whole. Naruto just watched in fear at the beast that stood before him as he sheathed his katana. It started to circle around him before deciding that it was time and made an attack.

"**Light Release: Heaven's Pulse**!"

A white ball materialized on his hand before launching it at the attacking beast, sending it back into a nearby heap of rubble. That was the opportunity for the blonde to draw out Soul Calibur and readied himself for the fight.

"Kitsune, watch out!" cried someone behind him, causing the young Uzumaki to turn. As he did so, he spotted a second creature lunging at him. At that moment, a black blur appeared and rammed it. It revealed itself to be another animal of some sorts with its claws stabbed into his former attacker. The new animal stood on two legs and his 'arms' possessed large claws. A mane of black hair fluttered behind it along with a tail swishing side to side.

**"Paladin! I'll take care of this one," **it growled. **"Deal with the other!"**

Naruto nodded before turning back around and watched the other creature with its three heads snapping at him.

"Come at me!" roared Naruto as he made to taunt his opponent, earning him a growl that seemed like something akin to a warning. "Come on!"

That was all it took as it leapt at him with its heads baring its teeth at him. A second later and the beast was laying on top of the blonde boy. The Terumi sisters rushed up to the bodies, only to find the tip of a familiar white blade piercing the body and they heard a grunt as the young Uzumaki moved the corpse.

"Kitsune, you're wounded," stated Kestia as she spotted the claws that had imbedded itself into the boy's arm. "We've got to get you treated. This stab is deep and there might be a chance it could have done some major damage."

"What's the plan?" asked Mei with concern.

"Pull... it out..." gasped Naruto as he had left his crystal blade in favor of grasping his injured arm.

"This will bleed out if we do!"

"Just... do it!"

Mei nodded at her sister, who released a sigh before carefully grasping the paw and started to pull out. Naruto could only grit his teeth as pain surged throughout his entire body and it wasn't long before he had to scream.

"Hold on Kitsune," stated Mei as she did her best to distract and comfort the ANBU. "It's almost out."

"There we go!" cried Kestia as she successfully pulled the bloodied claws out of the arm before turning to a nearby medic. "C'mon! He'll bleed out if he waits!"

Naruto could only inhale and exhale air as Kestia treated his arm. At this moment, the creature that had saved him lumbered towards him with blood dripping from his claws. Mei noticed this and drew a kunai.

"Mei... It's fine..." stated Naruto. "He... saved me..."

"Fine," she replied rather bluntly. "But if you try and hurt him, you're dead."

**"Peace. I was sent here to assist the Paladin with his journey," **he started. **"I am Plasmus, Boss Summon of the Nightmare Wolves. My mistress had sent me, along with several others of my kind to help you fight." **

"Thank you..." grunted Naruto as he watched Kestia finish treating his wound. "There is still... a base to take care...of."

"You're injured!" stated Kestia. "There is no way that you are fighting in this!"

"I won't fight until I'm needed to... but I have someone who can," replied Naruto as he stood up before he placed his hand on remaining blood from his wound. "**Summoning: Bahamut**!"

His chakra flared, saturating the air around him before shooting into the space above the cavern. Several purple and red trigrams appeared before something shot through it and made impact on the ground while forming a large cloud of dust. It quickly settled to reveal a large being about fifteen feet tall with dark red armor coating his body and wings sprouting from his back. A large sword has secured on his back with claw blades attached to his gauntlets. His face was covered with the signature dragon head like helmet that he often seen on him.

"Take care of them for a bit, Bahamut. I got injured and I don't want to fight more than I have to," said Naruto as he watched the large being nod at him before he started to claws his way through the surprised Loyalists. With its yellow eyes, the summon flew up into the air and held his hand up high.

_**"Dragon Fire Release: Dragonic Nova!"**_

A small red ball formed above his hand before it expanded until it had a radius of four feet. With an intimidating roar, he sent it towards the ground in front of the Loyalist base. As soon as it made contact, it exploded rather abruptly and instantly vaporized anything that it had directly hit. The rebels cheered as they surged forward in order to finally defeat the assaulting force.

The so called attack quickly turned into a massacre as Bahamut slashed his way through the Loyalist ranks while Plasmus quickly dispatched anyone on the room. Those that had survived were quickly dispatched by the rebel force. Naruto just walked steadily as he felt Rei healing his wound as fast as she could.

"The blast cleared the wall!" shouted Mei as she pointed at the massive hole that was in the wall. "Push through!'

From within the base, the General looked as the rebels rushed forwards with the intention of finally eliminating a major threat. That was when several people entered the room with worried looks on their faces.

"Sir, the beasts have abandoned us!" reported one of them nervously.

"Damn it!" he growled as he threw the binoculars in his hand at a bookshelf, causing it to break instantly. "This Marksman is becoming a big thorn for us and for the Mizukage. He has already killed many of our men with his constant attacks."

"Sir, what are your orders?" cried someone else as the building shook.

"Tell all our forces to focus on the Marksman. When he is eliminated, this war will turn to our favor."

"Do you think that this will be enough?" questioned one of his advisors. "They have other strong shinobi that we could focus like 'Burning Queen' Mei Terumi and her sister, 'Lava Princess' Kestia Terumi. Yet you focus on this one person."

"That one person has enough power to wipe out our entire force and I know that he is stronger than those two Terumi bitches. His death will result in a win for the Loyalist, which I can assure you."

Outside, the rebels slew through a plentitude of shinobi before holding as they spotted the main keep. At this point, Naruto summoned Soul Calibur to his hand before looking at the Terumi sisters who were resting for the oncoming fight.

"Plasmus, can you guard them for me?" he asked the Nightmare wolf, who nodded. "Thank you..."

"It's time," announced Mei. "For too long we have suffered! Now it is time for the tides to shift! This is the turning point of the war! With this victory, we will be one step closer to ending the Mizukage's reign!"

"Bahamut, let's ride," stated Naruto to his summon, who smirked before launching himself into the air and started to glow brightly. It didn't last long and it revealed a large armored dragon who Naruto jumped on top of. With a mighty roar, Bahamut launched into the air with Naruto holding on with his injured arm. Using his other arm, he made a slashing motion with Soul Calibur, launching a wave of white energy that formed ice and froze anything it made contact with. Bahamut took this time to let loose several streams of flames, roasting several ranks of the Loyalist defense.

The General just watched from his vantage point as the last remaining battalions fell to the dragon and its rider with the rebels just slicing their way to the keep. The fight, if he could call it that, lasted for an hour and it started to grow desperate for his men. With a hardened look, he exited his battlements and entered the battlefield with those who remained.

"This is our final chance to end this war! Today will mark a great day for the Mizukage as we slay the Rebellion!" he proclaimed as he opened his jacket to reveal a vest made completely out of explosive tags with his men doing the same. "If we're going down, then we will take them down with us!"

As soon as he said that, they charged. Every attack meant nothing to them and it started to cause panic for the rebels as the Loyalists approached.

"Kitsune! We need to take them out!" cried Mei frantically before spotting him nod.

"Let's end this fight, Bahamut," muttered the blonde. Time seemed to slow as the rebels started to run away from the advancing Loyalists, whose tags flowed with the wind. Naruto felt his heart beat as he watched them get closer as he flew towards them. Bahamut had started to charge an attack.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

The sound of his beating heart soon blocked sound from ever reaching his ears.

Ba-bump.

The yellow light from Bahamut's attack started to shine brightly as it grew larger and larger.

Ba-bump.

The Loyalist moved forward with determination in their eyes and no sense of remorse for their actions.

Ba-bump

It was up to fate now.

Ba-bump.

"_**Dragon Fire Release: Ultimate Flare**__!"_

A large explosion rocked the entire battlefield and those that remained could only look at the massive dust cloud that had formed. It was until they heard the soft beats of wings that they knew. The wind quickly disbursed the dust and all that remained was a large crater filled with molten rock. The moment was surreal and it took a moment for it to catch up as the rebels started to look at each other. It didn't take them long to start cheering with happiness at the end of a brutal assault.

"It's finally over," someone muttered.

"No," stated Mei as she walked towards the dragon and his rider. "This is just the beginning. Change is coming and we best prepare for it."

At this moment, Plasmus walked towards the ANBU.

**"Paladin, it is time," **he stated. **"We've found the trail."**

"Very well," stated Naruto seriously. "Let me gather my belongings."

"What are you doing?" asked a confused Mei. "Shouldn't you be resting? Your wound is going to get worse if you keep on doing this."

"I was given a mission, something that I cannot give information about but it is something I must do," he replied seriously. "The Nightmares will lead me to where I have to go. I will be back."

"Very well," she stated softly. "But I want Kestia to fix up that wound a little more before you leave. I'll get your belongings packed. But promise me that you will be back..."

"I promise..."

_Several Days Later_

_Konoha_

The Third Hokage lied on his couch, enjoying some free time by reading his favorite orange book while his clones dealt with his eternal nemesis. However, it was quickly interrupted as he heard a knock his door. Grumbling, he placed the book away before returning to his normal seat.

"Come in," he stated, hiding the annoyance in his voice. He watched as the door opened to reveal two of his ANBU guards along with a man with gravity defying hair. However, something was different about him.

"Hokage-sama, I think you might want to see this," he stated as he held up a large grey book, which had replaced his normal orange book.

"How important is it to interrupt what probably will be my only free time today?" asked the old man.

"Very important," replied Kakashi seriously, convincing the Hokage to activate the personal privacy seals on his desk. "It concerns us greatly because... well, I'll let you read it."

**Bingo Book Page 347**

**Name: Unknown (Goes by the alias 'Kitsune')**

**Nickname: 'The Marksman', 'Frozen Death', 'Jack the Ripper'**

**Origin: Unknown**

**Skills:**

** Ninjutsu: S-Rank with High ANBU capabilities**

** Is able to use Water, Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Air Primary Elements**

** Unknown usage of secondary elements**

** Summoning: Dragons**

** Genjutsu: Unknown**

** Taijutsu: Unknown**

** Kenjutsu: SS-Rank with Kage Level capabilities**

** Uses Unknown Ice attacks with in his Kenjutsu**

** Uses different styles with swords and no predictability**

** Projectiles: SS-Rank with Kage Level capabilities**

** Can strike any target within a two mile radius**

** Chakra Capacity: Above Kage level**

**Bloodline: Unknown**

**Description: **

** Blonde hair covered by a Kitsune Mask**

** Wields a large white blade, zanbatou size**

** Commonly uses senbon needles**

** Sometimes appears wearing white armor while holding two white zanbatous**

** Wears gauntlets on his wrist and lower arm**

**Events:**

**Kiri Bloodline Civil War: **

**Killed several battalions of ninjas with his sword before using ice attacks to finish off**

**Summons dragon to decimate a large amount of shinobi with simple attacks**

**Used senbon needles to strike opponents from a far distance away (Est. 2 miles)**

**Overall Rank: High A-Rank, Low S-Rank**

**Order: Pray that you're not even in the range of this ninja. Otherwise, flee on sight if you ever see him.**

**Kills: **

**Kiri Loyalist General Chikamasa Genkei – High A Rank, Low S Rank**

"So it seems that our little blonde is already making a name for himself," chuckled the Third as he looked at the silver haired man. "What do you think about this Yugao, Yamato?"

"He's going to be great, I can feel that he will surpass everyone from this village," answered Yugao from beneath her Cat mask. "To think that he progressed this much over several years. He's considered as an A-Rank shinobi."

"Let's see what happens when he comes back," added Yamato as he looked at the Bingo book through his Bear mask. "Hokage-sama, what will you do about team placements? He is centuries ahead of his year age and sending him into the Exams would make it a massacre."

"I don't know but I'm thinking of either publically announcing his rank or covering it up with an apprentice. If I have to put him in a team, I will see what I can do."

"I know that putting him with the Haruno and the Uchiha is a very bad idea," Kakashi stated with an eye smile.

"I agree but I have a few years to think about it so I will worry about it when I have to."

_Unknown Island_

A hooded figure ran along the coastline with several shadows following him. Above them, the clouds swirled around with lightning striking down from the heavens. Rain splashed against the covers that surrounded him while the wind battered his body.

"**We are a few hours away from the Tomb,"** the shadow stated before turning to face the darkness.

"I can feel the aura of something big coming in this direction."

"**I fear we may to be too late for the beast might be unleashed upon this world once more…"**

"What is this beasts name?"

"**The Kraken…"**

**A/N: Here you y'all are. Anyway, please review and comment on the story. No flames though. Like usual, here's a preview of the next chapter. **

"_**It seems that the so called guardians of my prison failed doing their duty to keep their prisoner locked away. It was a shame too, but now, I will have to kill you all."**_

"**Kraken, just as I feared, you have reentered this world,"** growled Plasmus as he walked through the small circle. **"You say that you will defeat us but you have it wrong for we will be the ones who will defeat you!"**

"_**You think that don't you, you pathetic mutt look alike," **_taunted Kraken before spitting back at them. _**"Then feel the wrath of a TITAN!"**_


End file.
